Grenadines

Monday 4 July – Monday 18 July

By 6:30 before the winds go over 20 knots we are off the mooring and under way leaving St. Lucia. Making a note that when we come back this way NOT to use the 1^st mooring and get one on the other side of the bay where hopefully the wind gusts won't be so violent. We have a reef in each sail and only 1-2 ft. seas as we leave the bay with protection from the island. Once we clear land the wind and waves pick up, a few rain clouds & showers around but no rain on us, thankful for the clouds but glad no rain since we have no shade or rain protection with the bimini down. Passing the northwest end of St. Vincent seeing nothing but green, green and more green in the short steep hills. This end of the island is very unpopulated. In the lee of the island all wind is lost so we roll up the sails and motor on by. The Southwest end of the island is very populated with the capital and big city of Kingston, whose customs & immigration offices are not really set up to deal with private boats (another reason not to stop). We had heard of some boats being boarded with armed robberies, so we are not stopping at St. Vincent. As we pass the island we get the wind back, but for a short time it is against the tide and so creates some rough seas, so we leave 2 reefs in the genoa and 1 in the main. As we get further from land the seas calm down becoming 5-7 foot swells on the aft beam, and we shake out the reefs making for a nice sail into Bequia. By 2 we are entering Admiralty Bay, another huge bay with several anchorages, we head over to the one on the north side close to the canvas shops. As we are walking off the dinghy dock carrying the bimini, a guy walking by asks us if we are going to the canvas shop, and informs us they are closed. He tells us everything is closed as it is Carnival celebration and everyone is off island over on St. Vincent in Kingston. Our guide book says this holiday is the 2^nd Monday & Tuesday in July, but we learn it is the 1^st. For some reason Customs & immigration are open so we get checked in and he tells us that some places might open back up on Tuesday. We just take a quick walk around since we are carrying the bimini, and the place looks pretty deserted and closed up. Back to the boat for the afternoon. Tuesday we take the bimini back in to see if by chance the canvas shops have opened, but no such luck. We find that out before we even get there as all the locals are very happy to tell us that everything is closed. Back to the boat again, and since it is not a holiday back in the states Steve is able to call the Spectra water maker company and talk to a guy about what our problem with the water maker could be. Of course working on the water maker means taking a lot of stuff out of the forpeak storage area (AKA the garage). Steve does a couple of tests like the spectra rep told him to do, and finds it was a 30 amp fuse that burned out, taking the fuse holder with it. Not sure why it burned out as water maker only uses 20 amps so fuse is adequate, but by luck we have a spare fuse holder and fuse that we purchased in St. Martin to fix the burned out one on the generator, so Steve splices the new fuse is in and the water maker is working again. Since everything is out of the forpeak, Steve wants to fix a small leak in the water maker high pressure pump discharge. This is when the job gets into trouble, as it turns into an all day affair, making the leak worse before finally getting it fixed. We are living the cliche of cruising is boat repair in exotic places, Steve in no mood to cook, so we go over to L'Auberge Restaurant for a wonderful dinner. Wednesday morning YEAH things are open BOO it's raining. Break in the rain, into the canvas shop just getting a little wet on the walk from the dinghy dock. Little down pour while we are there then another break so chance to walk into town. What a difference with shops open and people in the streets everybody going about daily routines. Stop by gift shop for post cards, while Steve goes across the street to the the Rasta Fruit & Veg Market and winds up with a few items. Next stop tourist office to get info on Bequia and the rest of the Grenadine Islands, as we are crossing the street to the post office we run into Dave from Promise. He is coming in to clear in since they just arrived late Tuesday. Visit for a few minutes and will meet up later or the next day to catch up again. Rain is still threatening and Steve is carrying 2 papayas, a pineapple, several avocados and a full backpack of other assorted items so we decide to go back to the boat to unload just in time for the next shower. Weather prediction says it is supposed to clear in the afternoon, but we spend the rest of the day opening and closing the hatches between showers. Get the freezer defrosted and read up on the places we want go to in the Grenadines. Thursday is a beautiful morning with blue skies so we decide to take advantage of the good weather. Go in and 1^st walk up to an old fort, not really a fort anymore but a great overlook of the bay. Back into town as we have really not had a good chance to see it. Again the streets a busy with activity, people coming and going. Walking down the south side of the harbor seeing some different shops and restaurants on the walkway along the shoreline. At the end a 1950's plantation resort recently closed & abandoned, what a shame it is really prime real estate. We find our way to the road through the property and thinking it is a short walk to the beach, around the corner if by water, head out walking. Well we have to go up hill quite a bit before we come to a “road” leading down to the beach. Overall, probably a mile uphill/downhill walk to go a quarter mile along the beach. It is a beautiful beach and Jacks Bar & Restaurant is just opening so we have a cool beverage and relax before lunch, glad to be undercover for the 1^st afternoon thunderstorm. Not feeling like repeating the walk, we call for a water taxi to bring us back to town :). Stop by the Frangipani restaurant to make reservations for dinner, then the grocery store then back to the boat for a few more afternoon showers. Rain stops before we go in for dinner but just as we reach the dinghy dock in front of the restaurant another downpour, I was glad I had on an old rain coat but Steve got soaked. We were meeting Dave & Colleen from Promise who also thought to wear rain gear. Have a fair BBQ & buffet dinner and a good time visiting with Colleen & Dave again. Friday morning the weather stays clear for our morning dive, seeing lots of fish and coral along the wall just outside the harbour. Able to have lunch in the cockpit and read before the afternoon thunderstorm comes rolling in. When it's not raining we have a great breeze to keep the boat cool, if we have to close up for long it gets humid & stuffy but most of the time just as we get the windows closed the rain stops and we can open back up again. Getting real tired of doing that though, hope the weather prediction for a week of drier weather holds true. Saturday starts cloudy and rainy but clears up and turns out to be a beautiful afternoon. We go into town to pick up a few things and just get caught in one shower. They are having a Fisherman's Festival, so have lots of people hanging out in the park by the docks with music and plenty of fish to buy for anyone who wants some. Stop by Promise to talk with Colleen & Dave for a while and meet later at Mac's Pizzeria for dinner along with Jimmy from ¾ Time who ran into some bad weather coming down from St. Lucia and LOST (bottom of the ocean) his mast !! What a story that is, just very grateful it is his story and not ours ! Steve had checked with the Bequia marina about coming in to get fuel the next morning so we surprised to find it closed when we got there Sunday morning at 9. We finally found someone who called someone who told the guy to go wake the guys up on the boat in the marina, which Steve had tried to do. Didn't need much, just wanted to top off from using the generator so much this last week with all the rain. He was quite pleasant as he woke up climbing off the boat to open the fuel station. Another guy and the girl who had told Steve they would be open also get off the boat to help. We joked about having her days mixed up since they are usually closed on Sundays, we can relate to that. Topped off with fuel, and they had both quoted Steve a price but seems the owner just called to inform that the price had gone up from $12.75 EC to $15 EC, we wound up paying $14 EC and were heading out of the bay by 10. A wonderful sail all the way to Canouan, 1-2 ft seas 15 knot winds and clear sunny skies, a beautiful day to be on the water. We are one of 5 boats anchored in Charlestown Bay on the island of Canouan. A Moorings charter marina is here but this one is closed for the season and the place is empty. Seems most boats are passing this island up, as we walk around part of the island, between being Sunday & off season things are real quiet. It is a lovely little island with a beautiful anchorage, empty with no charter boats here, but a little rolly. Take the dinghy over to a near by reef to snorkel, then relax & read in the cockpit as the sun sets. Monday underway by 10 heading to the Tobago Cays, 5 little uninhabited islands partially surrounded by Horseshoe Reef, and part of the national park. We have a nice sail the short distance and are anchored by 11:30 in one of the most magnificent spots we have seen. After lunch we go to snorkel with the turtles off Baradel Cay, and are surprised at how many there are to see & swim with. Back at the boat Steve gets surrounded by fish coming to see what he is scraping off the bottom as he cleans the off the marine growth on the hull. Another beautiful sunset in another beautiful place. Tuesday we are awoken by rain, thought the rain was past us for a few days, but we have a few showers in the area and the day remains cloudy. We go over to a couple of the islands and walk the beaches and trails, even though it is still overcast we get some great views overlooking the Cays and other islands. Tuesday night we go to run the generator to charge the batteries and it stalls out and then won't start. Steve thinks right away that it sounds like no fuel OR BAD fuel = water in the fuel. Right away he is thinking of the fuel we got in Bequia, after a lot of rain and getting the guy out of bed they did not check or filter off any water they took into their tanks. Luckily we kept the two fuel tanks separated so only the generator supply needed to be bled and cleaned out. Two hours later job done, Steve not very happy about getting bad fuel from the place that was supposed to have the best. Another lesson learned, when getting fuel after rain check it first !! Wednesday we snorkel along the reef and see all kinds of marine life. Thursday Steve goes snorkeling again but I decide to stay dry for a day. This is just one of those places you can just hang out at and enjoy all the beauty around you. Friday, a leisurely morning before heading over to Mayreau. With just the genoa sail out we still make the trip in 30 minutes. First stopping in Salt Whistle bay, go ashore to walk the beach and see the resort is closed for the season. Walk to the top of hill to see an old quaint catholic church with a great view of the Tobago Cays, and another bay that we decide looks less rolly. Back down the hill & to the boat have lunch on board before pulling up anchor and heading over to Saline Bay. This bay is a little closer to the village up on the hill so we thought we might go walk around. But just after we anchor we keep hearing the fresh water pump going and neither of us is using any water. We can hear water trickling, and we find it coming from the engine compartment, which should have nothing to do with the fresh water pump. We can see that the engine coolant is leaking / overflowing ???? So we shut the fresh water off and it stops ?? Steve has to think about this for a minute, and comes to the conclusion that the heat exchange coil in the hot water tank has a leak and it is back flowing into the engine causing the coolant to overflow. NOT good news !! After a little more thinking, Steve says he can cut the fresh water lines to & from the water heater to the engine & plug them. The engine does not need them to run, the line is just to make hot water when the engine is running and we can run the generator to make hot water. So he cuts them and shoves in some wooden through hull plugs we have for emergency repairs, and finds the water/coolant leaking right through the plugs! They're so dry, the water is just pouring through them like a sponge. Steve hopes the wood will eventually swell and seal off, but necessity being the mother of invention, he gets some plastic wrap from the kitchen, pulls out the plugs, wraps that around them and shoves them back. So we have a temporary fix, most likely we will have to get a new water heater down in Grenada. Did I already mention the saying cruising = boat repair in exotic places :). Saturday Union Island and Internet connection, this is one of the longest stretches we have gone w/o internet. YES we are spoiled, and consider ourselves very lucky to be able to keep in touch with family & friends, and have this ability to connect and catch up on news, pay bills, etc. etc. So our first few hours in this new tropical paradise is spent on our computers. Later we go into town and walk around seeing what is where, they have a great local outdoor fruit & veg market and a couple of grocery stores but not much in them. Things are hard to find here in the Grenadines, not that we need much, it is just part of our routine to check out what is available where. They have several restaurants so we walk around to check them out making the wrong choice with The Clifton Beach restaurant and have a mediocre meal. Tuesday we wake to rain and a cloudy overcast day. Lazy morning but Steve soon finds a project of taking the genoa winch apart to clean. This is a big winch and has several 100 pieces, Steve has done this maintenance chore before so knows how to take it apart & put it back but it takes all afternoon, one down 3 more to go 2 smaller & easier. Monday is a beautiful day just a little morning sun shower, Steve finishes the cleaning of the winches. Lunch on board then into town to pick up fresh fruits & veggies and diet cokes. Back to the boat to swim and snorkel by the reef we are anchored near. Tuesday checking out of the Grenadines to head over to Carriacou an Island that is part of Grenada.

link to pictures;  https://picasaweb.google.com/103931849054358791487/Grenadines?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCK2Yq9L1pO6aFg&feat=directlink 

St. Lucia

Sunday 26 June - Sunday 3 July

We leave Martinique 9 am on Sunday to go to St. Lucia, and before we are even out of the bay we get caught in a thunderstorm, not a good beginning. We are sailing, double reefs in both sails. As we get across the bay there are several smaller bays, and as the skies temporally clear they sure look like a good option to me to duck into and wait another day for better weather. Once committed to going it is hard to turn back so looks like we are in for another wet & bouncy ride. By 11 we are approaching diamond rock and the southwest end of the island and can see black skies ahead. Just as we get the sails in we get hit with the next storm. Visibility is extremely poor as we try to keep a lookout for any other boats in the area, keeping the boat on course as the wind and rain howl down on us. Luckily with these storms they are over in 15 to 20 minutes, just leaving us wet for the remainder of the trip, which other then being wet and a little bouncy is not all that bad. Putting double reefed sails back out, making good time sailing along with just a few small waves breaking on us. A few wind gusts heeling us over putting the rail in the water makes us put the 3^rd reef in. By 2:30 we are entering the protected waters of Rodney Bay in St. Lucia. We have dried out and down below stayed dry so all in all not a bad trip, not a relaxing day sail but we are now in St. Lucia able to relax in Beautiful Rodney Bay.

Dave & Colleen come in about an hour later and anchor near by inviting us over for a grilled chicken dinner on board their boat that evening.

Monday Steve goes to clear us in, then comes back to get me to go check out the marina complex and town. First over to the marina which has several great choices of restaurants, & an Island Water World marine store. Across the street they have a huge hardware store with a marine section also. This is all part of the routine of coming into a new place, seeing what is there and what they have available. Even if we do not “need” anything it is always good to know what is available, especially since we will be coming back this way. Lunch at a restaurant serving Thai food, then take the dinghy over to the Rodney Bay Village area. Here they have several more great choices of restaurants plus if we were having a fast food craving a KFC, Burger King, McDonald’s, Subway, & Pizza Hut were all in the area. They have two huge supermarkets, that between the two you can get just about anything you could back home. Also a large drug store, this is one of the best places we have seen to re-provision in a long time. Back to the boat, & after walking around the hot, dusty streets in the sun it is so nice to go back and jump off the back of the boat for a nice cool swim in the beautiful blue water.

Tuesday morning along with Colleen & Dave we go to explore Pigeon Island. A history with pirates as well as the French & English navy's and even the US used it as a naval air station during WW II. They are doing a great job with restoration, the beach offers good snorkeling and the views from the hikes up the two peaks is just breathtaking. Stopping for a beer and to rest at the restaurant by the dinghy dock, before making a tough decision to go over to another restaurant by the marina for lunch. After lunch it's back to the boats for a swim, relaxing & reading in the cockpit. Later that evening we go into the village to go to the restaurant Spice of India for a fabulous meal.

Wednesday morning Steve goes into the grocery stores while I stay on board to clean the refrigerator and get ready to go to a luncheon. They have a cruisers net here & the morning announcement mentioned a ladies luncheon at one of the hotels on the beach that I was going to go to while Steve changed the oil on the generator. The Bay Shore resort has a great pool, bar and restaurant right on the beach and they had postcards in their gift shop and the front desk was able to sell me stamps and mail the cards. I was one very happy camper, all my favorites in one spot. Nice lunch and swim in the pool even if it took 4 hours as we had a good time talking and exchanging stories and info on things down island. Back on board Steve had talked to John & Linda on Kool Kat, who we had stopped by to say hi to the night before on our way to dinner after seeing they were from Houston Texas, and they will be coming over at 5:30 for drinks. John had grown up in the Webster / Clear Lake area and we remembered his old boat Sails Call, they have been cruising between the BVI'S and Grenada for the last 3 years so had some good information to share. Colleen & Dave pass by on the way back from their grocery store outing and join us also.
Thursday 9 AM into the fuel dock getting tied up just as it starts to pour, so just hang out waiting for it to stop. An hour later Steve is able to go over to customs thinking he can check out several days in advance but they tell him no it has to be within 24 hours. Get fueled up and are underway under sunny skies by 11, heading for Marigot Bay. Have a nice breeze behind us so are running with just the genoa with following seas making 6-7 knots. Just as I am thinking and saying what a nice gentle sail this is, we see the skies behind us turning dark. Books and cushions down below, reef in and the storm hits us, getting real tired of being wet underway. Storms come and go fast around here, just in time as we are approaching the entrance to Marigot Bay the rain stops and the sun comes out. They have a little problem with boat boys coming out to “help” you get a mooring, telling them you do not want their help is not easy and at the same time other guys are coming out to sell you fruit. All this why you are trying to navigate is a pain. Pick up a mooring and buy a few bananas and send them on their way. Get ready to go into the village and another rain storm comes up, so lunch on board. Later we get another short break so go in to walk around and see what is here, I find a place for a pedicure and treat myself while Steve goes back to the boat between showers. Dinner on board as the rain starts and stops all night long and into Friday morning. Finally around noon the rain stops and the sun comes out so we go in for lunch and then do a hike up to a lookout point. Beautiful views with the sun shinning but on the way down the rain comes again, takes a while to get through the trees to reach us but it's a wet walk down. This is the rainy season, but a lot of these showers are from a front that has hopefully passed us now.
Saturday Steve goes in to check out with customs at 8:30 to find out they open at 9, he is 1^st in line and has the paperwork all filled out and ready for them. We are underway by 9:30, with light winds and flat calm seas. Finally a nice calm relaxing trip, we do get one little sprinkle but after what we have been getting it does not even faze us. We do have to motor sail as the winds are that light but enjoy the beautiful coast line as we make our way south. The Pitons are a sight to be seen and make quite an appearance as they come into view. We had been approached by a boat boy awhile back, asking us where we were going, and just when we think we lost him, he comes back up to the boat as we are entering the bay. Really not a bad thing, as some of the moorings like this one, are tricky with the wind and tide. This is how a lot of them make their living and so you let them help for a few dollars / EC. This guy captain Bob, also offers tours and tells us what is available. We agree to a price on a short tour after we settle in and have lunch. Captain Bob comes back to pick us up, bringing us over to the town of Soufriere where he puts us in contact with a taxi driver. A ride up to the Sulphur Springs Volcano crater, when the volcano blew it left an opening so now you can drive up to and thru the volcano. Won't be taking any hot spring baths here as the water is 200+ degrees and the steam 300+ degrees. They do have hot springs you can go into at other locations around the island. Next we stop at the BEAUTIFUL !!! Ladera resort. It is located up on a ridge overlooking the bay we are anchored in between the pitons and want to get a picture. What a place, being the “off” season if we wanted to spend $680 (lowest rate ) we could spend ONE (1) night there. Instead we buy a drink at the bar and I get my pictures, even if it is hard to make out our boat in the bay. Next we stop by Diamond Botanical Gardens Waterfall & Mineral Baths. Not allowed to go into this waterfall, they have small pools for the mineral bath, NOT the same as going into a real waterfall so we do not pay extra to get wet. Enjoy walking around the gardens seeing all the different flowers, trees and plants. Drive back into town where captain Bob is waiting to take us back to our boat. Not one of the best tours but a nice short glimpse of the area, and enjoy a sunny afternnon. Back at the boat and it is time to try to tackle the water maker problem. On the way down when we tried to make water we could not, as it would not build up the needed pressure, kept cutting off then try to build up pressure, fail and cut off again. Steve tries a few things trying to trouble shoot it but with no luck. We have a good supply of water on hand and our next destination of Bequia has someone that might be able to help. On Monday we can also try to calling the manufacture Spectra. By the time we are done messing with the water maker it is getting late, so start getting the boat ready for an early departure crossing down to Bequia. With the winds pouring down into the bay between the Pitons, it is one of the coolest anchorages we have been in, so windy that we don't even need all the windows open which turns out to be a good thing when it starts pouring rain at midnight. The rain and WIND continue all night long, the wind just howling at a steady 30 knots with gusts up to 46 and one at 52 knots !!!! Thankful we are on a good secure mooring ball and have double lines on it. We were supposed to leave at sunrise but needless to say that did NOT happen, no one was going anywhere in this weather. At 9:30 the rain stops (just a drizzle), wind still howling, so Steve goes up to check on the mooring lines. All is well, an hour later I look out the companion way and see our bimini flapping in the breeze !! Sometime during that hour a zipper broke and the bimini came loose and with 30 to 40 ++ knot winds started flapping and tearing. We get the connecting piece down and tie up the back part so it wont rip any more. Now when we go to Bequia we will be looking for a person to help repair the water maker and someone to sew the bimini back together !!!! Yes life in paradise does have its challenges.

link to pictures;  https://picasaweb.google.com/103931849054358791487/StLucia?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCJf14Zfc7IHMSw&feat=directlink

Martinique

Wednesday 22 June – Saturday 25 June

After Sea Cat delivers a bag of ice we are underway by 8:30, heading south along the shore of Dominica. We are leaving the Leeward chain of Islands heading for the Windward chain of Islands, new set of charts and guide books. We have double reefs in both sails since the weather prediction calls for winds 20-25, with possible isolated showers and gusts up to 35 and 6-10 foot seas. Moving along the coast seas and wind are fine, but as we pass Scotts Head the southern tip of Dominica and go from a depth of 700 feet to 7000 we get broadsided with a 10 foot wave breaking on the port side of the boat. Soaking us and the cockpit with saltwater, even some down the companionway that was open. That would not have been so bad but it was then we realized one of the small hatches over the dinning table was not locked down ! So a huge amount of salt water soaked one of the seats and the floor down below. Lock the window down, nothing we can do until we are at anchor. The rest of the trip was another great sail, moving along between 7-8 knots. Once out in the deeper water the seas evened out between 4-5 feet with an occasional 6 footer. Once in the lee on Martinique the seas died down but the wind became irregular again as it swept down from the mountains. Rolled up the main first thinking we could run with just the genoa, but winds too variable so rolled up the genoa and motored into St. Pierre anchoring close by Promise who had come down the day before. First we clean the cockpit out washing down the salt, where is the rain when you want it. Steve goes to check in while I start to clean up down below. Steve finds customs but since it is Wednesday afternoon, they have decided not to reopen after lunch. He comes back to the boat & we finish cleaning up the mess. Dave & Colleen stop by on the way back to their boat saying to hit customs at 9 am. St. Pierre has a very interesting history, back in 1902 Mt. Pelee volcano “exploded” releasing a huge fire ball (with the energy of an atomic bomb) that rained down on the city killing all but 2 of the 30,000 residents and leaving the town in ruins. Thursday we get to customs at 9, it is also the tourist office so we pick up a few pamphlets on Martinique but most were just in French I guess they don't get a lot of English speaking visitors? Find a postcard and the post office, get stamps & mail cards. Stop by the local market to pick up some fruit & veggies. Back to the boat to check with Colleen & Dave to see if they want to walk up to the Depaz Rum Distillerie. Head back out around 11:30 stopping by the ruins of the old theater & prison on our way out of town. A nice 2 mile walk up the road and we reach the beautiful grounds of the distillerie at the base of Mt. Pelee. A self guided tour through the distillerie and a lovely lunch at the restaurant on the grounds before walking back to town, via another road which turns out to be shorter and not as steep. Back in town passing by the ruins of an old fort that also burned. It is a sight to see the huge pieces of charred remains. Back to the boats around 5 for a nice cool swim. Friday morning listening to Chris Parker's weather on the SSB we hear 2 other boats (Gypsy Wind & Bright Hope) we had met back in PR. After the report Steve is able to hail Bright Hope and talk to Art, they are off shore heading straight to Grenada from St. John USVI. We head out at 9 and arrive at 11 in Fort De France, the capital city of Martinique. As we are approaching you can see more and more homes along the coast as we get into a heavily populated area. So you would think getting an internet connection here would be easy, turns out not to be so. St. Pierre we could understand but this is the biggest town in the Windward Islands, the capital of Martinique! We do manage to find a couple of spots in town to lug the computer into to check email. Walking around town seeing the sights meeting up with Dave & Colleen at the end of the day to have a drink before heading back to the boats for the evening cooling off swim. Saturday morning we go in to check out the local market, and that place and the streets are all busy, that is until 1 o'clock when everything closes up. All the stores and even the restaurants, except the ones in the mall, so we wind up there and go to a restaurant for lunch running into Dave & Colleen just finishing their lunch. It was strange walking back to the boat on deserted streets, they even had the street cleaner going. Back on the boat making plans to move on to St. Lucia on Sunday. Fort De France is a HUGE bay with 5-6 other smaller bays and little towns and anchorages, we look forward to seeing next time up, but for now we will be heading south.

link to pictures;  https://picasaweb.google.com/103931849054358791487/Martinique?authkey=Gv1sRgCIH0qav6iMyaLA&feat=directlink

Dominica

Friday 17 June – Tuesday 21 June

We have to fight the incoming waves and wind riding the outgoing tide which makes going out the Passe Du Bud Ouest (west pass cut) a little rough. But once outside and heading south we have a GREAT sail over from the Saints to Dominica with wind and waves on the beam. Doing 7.5 – 8 knots with a reef in both sails, what a ride. Three and a half hours later we are moored in Prince Rupert Bay on the northwest coast of Dominica off the town of Portsmouth. In this section of Dominica there is a group of men PAYS = Portsmouth Association of Yacht Security. They maintain the moorings and can arrange for tours, supplies, yachting services you might need, & give general information on the area, as well as ensure the area is safe. Boaters are a big part of the livelihood to this country and we are very welcomed here. Our dealings with this group was very professional and reasonable. No high pressure sales pitch, just letting us know they are available and there to help if we needed anything. Lawrence of Arabia got to our boat first, introducing himself saying he would check back with us after we had checked in and had time to relax. We have lunch on board while we wait for customs to reopen after their lunch break. As we are siting on deck we look over at a boat that had come in shortly before us and notice that it looks like the boat Promise, we met back in the BVI'S. We hail them on the VHF and it is Dave & Colleen so we make plans to see them later and catch up on where we have been. Steve & Dave go over to customs to check in and get back just as it starts to rain. Good to have the salt washed off the boat but not good to go into town. Finally about 5 it stops so we make a break for it and go into one of the local beach bars – Big Papa's. Have a couple of drinks while visiting with Dave & Colleen. Walk down to the Purple Turtle to have a drink and compare dinner menus, going back to Papa's for dinner. We all wanted to do the Indian River tour but it was too late to contact Lawrence, so when he came by Saturday morning we decided to do the afternoon tour since it was already later in the morning than when he does the morning tour. Spent the morning just looking around the town, postcards will have to wait as the shops that are open did not have any. Very friendly town, as you walk the streets folks say hi and welcome you to Dominica, some stopping to ask where you are from and to talk about the US and Dominica, wishing us a pleasant stay. Another HOT day, so back to the boat for lunch and a swim to cool off before our river tour. Monty (who works for Lawrence) comes to pick us up in his boat, and the tour starts as he explains the rusted big ships washed ashore are from a hurricane, making it clear this is NOT a hurricane hole. At the entrance to the river the outboard is turned off and the oars come out as no motors are allowed up the river (another good reason to have a guide). Even though the Indian River opens to the bay and has a tidal flow it is feed by springs up in the mountain so it is fresh water. Pirates of the Caribbean II had some scenes filmed along this river. Colleen & Dave are surprised we have not seen the movie so say they will lend us theirs. The amazing trees and plants along the way are beautiful and the sounds of the birds and frogs just add to this magical experience. Spotting many land crabs along the banks and several herons as we wind our way deeper into the woods. My words will not do justice to the beauty of this river tour so you will just have to look at the pictures. Amongst all this natural beauty way up the river, one of the guides came up with a great idea, and made a jungle bar from surrounding trees and bamboo blending right in with the woods. Back down river and back to the boats by 6:30 then over to Promise for cocktails as we watch the sunset. When we came out of the river we talked to Lawrence about what our island tour the following day would cover, and confirmed the 9 am pick up time (pick you up at our boat so we don't have to use our dinghy). Sunday morning Monty picks us up and brings us ashore to Kilroy (AKA Uncle Sam) who will be our guide / taxi driver today, seems Lawrence does the negotiation of what things will cost and then has helpers/friends do the actual tours. Kilroy is a great guide and a great driver we traveled roads winding up and down the mountains and through many villages, some very narrow streets you would think they should be one way. We cover a lot of territory, with lots of little stops so Kilroy can go over to the side of the road to grab a fruit or a spice growing to show it to us. Just about any type of fruit, vegetable, nut, spice & herb grows easily and everywhere here. Stops by an old distillery, the Carib Indian reserve, and many beach and mountain scenic view overlooks. All before lunch at a great place called Islet View restaurant. After lunch we stop at Spanny Falls, a short hike down into the woods and we come to the waterfall and a pool of water to swim in cold but refreshing. Colleen & Dave came prepared with a bottle of wine as we toast to a great day. Hike back out, stop for a beverage and to change out of wet bathing suit bottoms and the tour continues making a few more stops. Arriving back to Portsmouth around 6, back to our boats and Colleen & Dave join us for a late Thai style dinner that Steve makes for us from some of the herbs Kilroy picked for us during the day. Monday we move on down the coast to Roseau the capital of Dominica. Not as many boat greeters/guides down at this end, but Desmond Sea Cat's helper comes out to meet us and we use one of his moorings. He tells us Sea Cat is busy but will stop by later to see if we need anything. We go in to check in & out with customs, you can (so the book says) do this all at the same time when you 1^st check in, but since we were not sure how long we would be staying they told us to check in again in Roseau. We finally find the customs office hidden behind a big black solid iron door/gate that had recently been painted so NO sign saying customs & immigration through here. They were a little confused as to why we were checking in again also, but were very nice, did the paperwork and checked us out all for $2. Walked around town, found my postcards and a place for lunch. A local place advertising they serve Ital food, we thought Italian but learn it is just a type of cooking using natural unprocessed food with fresh veggies, herbs & spices. We have a huge great inexpensive meal. As we are walking to the PO we run into Colleen & Dave who had just arrived and are looking for the customs office. Steve shows them the hidden door while I go across the street to get stamps and mail my postcards. We continue walking around town, find a place to have a cold drink then Colleen & Dave go to find a place to eat while we go back to the boat to see what we might want to visit the next day. Dominica has many hiking trails to many waterfalls and lakes, but some can be hard over rocky terrain, so we are not sure which ones my knee will allow us to do. Tuesday Coleen & Dave decide to head down to Martinique while we do another land tour and get some laundry done. We talk to Sea Cat in the morning and decide on a couple of spots I can get to, and set a departure time for 9:30. A quick drive through town, stopping at an auto parts store to get a fan belt for the boat and to drop laundry off. Climbing up into the mountains again, everywhere you look green, green and more green dotted with colorful flowers. You can understand why the Dominicans are such happy & friendly people growing what they need, eating what they grow as Sea Cat put it. He also makes several stops showing us all the wonderful things growing along the road. Up into the clouds to stop by Fresh Water Lake, water level is low even though this is the rainy season and we have been getting a few showers every day they are still behind on their rainfall. Steve takes a little hike down and is surprised to see that the water pipe line we have been seeing for miles and miles is made out of WOOD. Meeting up with us waiting for him down the hill. Traveling down some rugged older roads Sea Cat asks if we still want to go to the waterfall for a swim. Coming down from the cold mountain air, not real thrilled about getting wet BUT this is why we came on this little tour so we say yes we want to go. We get there and he tells us this is the 2^nd most visited spot, they are even doing construction to build a bigger parking lot and a bathhouse. We walk down the path and over a stream and come to this little 4 ft. waterfall dumping out into this little 15x10 pool just barely deep enough to wade in. Sea Cat says go on in I'll just wait here, well we are NOT impressed. Since we drove all the way here to this out of the way spot, and I did say I would go swimming, I get ready to go in wondering why this is such a popular place ??? Steve on the other hand says he will “give it a pass”, that he is not going to get wet for this. Sea Cat says well I guess I will have to just go in and show you, making Steve feel guilty so he comes in also. Sea Cat goes around the corner and we see the opening to the caves that you swim into. NOW we understand why this is such a good spot. We start swimming in but Steve has to go back to get the camera (did not think we would need it). Swim in a ways and come to another opening in the rocks where the water is rushing down. Steve & Sea Cat climb up and go back behind a waterfall. I couldn't make the climb up so waited behind. Needless to say our impression of the place was greatly altered. Sea Cat set us up perfectly and he said he would be using Steve's line about “giving it a pass”, all of us having a good laugh. Next stop Trafalgar Falls & hot springs. I make the climb to the hot springs but to get all the way to the falls you have to climb over a lot of big rocks so just Steve & Sea Cat go while I soak in the hot springs. Climb back out change into dry clothes to go by the River Rock Cafe for lunch. Stop at one of the hot sulfur springs, surprised at how hot the ground underneath gets, you can here it gurgling up, poke a stick down into the ground and it comes up with hot mud on the end, seeing a pool of boiling water coming up from the ground. Drive back towards town stopping at an overlook of the city. Another incredible day in this beautiful country. Wednesday we will head south to Martinique but look forward to a return trip to Dominica and the chance to explore more and doing some diving as we have heard it is a great place for that also.  

link to pictures;  https://picasaweb.google.com/103931849054358791487/Dominica?authkey=Gv1sRgCIqe167RnrHA9gE&feat=directlink

Guadeloupe and The Saints

Tuesday 14 June – Thursday 16 June

Steve goes into customs at 8 to clear us out of Antigua, as I go to the Post Office that opens at 8:15 to mail my postcards. Steve has to fill out the exact same form ONLY difference one says arrival one says departure, you would think they could just add an extra line on one of the forms. As I enter the PO two workers are there so I ask for stamps for my postcards and the lady tells me no I have to wait, that the cashier is not there yet. By 8:45 Steve is done checking out and has come to find me still waiting for the PO cashier, seems she had to bring her baby to day care so is not at work yet. Yes life is different in the islands. A mail carrier comes by but still no cashier, finally the other lady working in the PO feels sorry that it is taking so long and says it will be okay for me to leave my money and cards with her and she will buy the stamps when the cashier gets in. HOPE she does !! Back to the boat, take the motor off the dinghy for the passage, stop by the fuel dock on the way out and we are leaving English Harbour by 10. Partly cloudy skies, chance of scattered thunderstorms, 10-15 knot winds with 1-2 foot swells both on the beam. By 11 the winds have picked up a little so we are able to just sail, no motor, feels and sounds great as we are doing 7+ knots. As we get further from land the swells increase to 4-5' with an occasional 6' swell, still on the beam so able to sail comfortably. Around 1 we can see a thunderstorm getting close, and the winds are increasing and shifting direction. We roll up the genoa, and reef the main as the winds clock all around kicking up confused seas. Only get a few drops of rain but the wind and waves toss the boat around a little, next thing we know we have lost GPS and auto pilot. Hand steering get the boat back on course and Steve goes down below to see if he can figure out what happened. Turns out a book came flying off a shelf and somehow hit the autopilot breaker turning it off so all he had to do was flip it back on. 30 minutes later wind has died down, seas still a little confused but able to put sails back out and just sail again. Once we come along the coastline of Guadeloupe we lose all wind so roll up the sails and motor the last 3 miles to Deshaies ( pronounced Day – hay). We are anchored in Deshaies Bay off the town of Deshaies by 4. There had been some threatening rain clouds as we approached the coast of Guadeloupe and just as we are getting ready to go check in the guy from the boat anchored next to us comes up and explains that with the wind clocking around the bay boats will do a 360 spin and he is afraid we are too close. We think we have enough room but never want to upset someone already anchored we agree to move with no problem. Of course that is when the skies open up as I am on deck getting the anchor up and resetting it in a new location, but it is warm enough that it actually feels refreshing. The rain lets up for a few minutes but we can see more is on the way so checking in will wait until Wednesday morning. Hot and muggy, so glad we can run the generator and have A/C. The village has a customs office, but the word is that finding someone there is rare. So the place to check in at is Le Pelican, a combo internet cafe, photo/copy shop, & souvenir shop. We were able to check in and get postcards & STAMPS all in the same place, what a country ! Quick stroll around the quaint little town, stop for a bottle of water and to address the postcards, & drop them off at the Post Office. The tourism office is closed, we wanted to pick up some info for when we return as there is a lot to see and do inland on Guadeloupe. The internet service we signed up for in Antigua has an outlet here but the signal was not connecting, so we stopped by the shop and she told us they were aware of the problem and a technician was supposed to be out in the afternoon to fix it. Being that she said they had the problem for a week and that we are deep into “island time” territory we will be surprised if we get internet in the afternoon. Stop at the local fruit stand to pick up a few items and the grocery store then back to the boat for lunch. After lunch we go for a walk along the ridge by Hemingway’s restaurant to see the ruins of an old fort, a few cannons (the Caribbean is literally littered with these things!) and then back into town to pick up a few more things. The internet is still not working so Steve goes by another place and gets a days worth of service. Back at the boat we get cleaned up and go into town for a lovely dinner at L'Amer on a balcony with the waves lapping the shore just beneath us and a view of our boat at anchor. I have “Colombo Chicken”, which the waiter says is chicken cooked with “local spices” Turns out it's chicken in a delicious curry sauce which Steve figures is named after Colombo, Sri Lanka (ne Ceylon), but way toned down on the chili. The adventures of eating when you don't understand the language or local terminology, food was very good just different from what we expected ! Steve of course does not care as he will eat anything, the more unusual the better but I am not as adventurous when it comes to food. Thursday we are underway around 9 heading for Pigeon Island, part of the Cousteau National park. Stopping by to pick up a mooring and snorkel for a little before continuing south. No problem picking up one of the day moorings available to boaters, BUT no painter line just the loop to thread our line through, so I miss the 1^st one and get the next one with Steve's help. It is a great place to snorkel and next time back would be worth doing a dive further out into the park. As we are circling the island and heading back to the boat the tide starts to come in and I can NOT make any forward progress. With my knee still on the mend I can not kick as hard as I need to to fight the current. Steve swims ahead and goes back to the boat to get the dinghy to come back and get me, surprised at how far I have drifted down the island as I wave my bright yellow fin to direct him to me. Back to the boat for lunch and back underway, once Steve finally gets our mooring line off as it had become JAMMED into the plastic tubing around the loop from the ball. Originally we had planed to stop at an anchorage just a short distance away, but now we decide we have time to make it all the way to the Saints by 5, so we are underway heading further south down the west coast of Guadeloupe. What a crazy shoreline this is to travel along, the wind comes down off the mountains and valleys and is constantly shifting. One minute it is 8 knots of breeze next it is 25, one minute it is an off shore breeze next it is an on shore breeze. Even the swells change ! It is still a breathtaking view making our way south along the coast, one of the most beautiful coastlines we have seen. Once past the southwestern tip of Basse Terre, Guadeloupe there is no more land effect and just good old wind on the beam as we cross over to the Saints. The Saints are a group of islands between Guadeloupe & Dominica, a great cruising destination that we will come back and explore after Hurricane season. For now we will just anchor overnight before heading on to Dominica. Again breathtaking is the word that comes to mind, we are still so amazed at how each place is just more and more beautiful. They have set up moorings in all of the designated anchorages, and we choose to stay out by Ilet Cabrit, since we will not even be checking in just passing through as hard as that is. Again I have trouble with the mooring, again no painter line just a metal ring and I can not lift the whole mooring ball up high enough to get our line thru, and with my knee can not get down to it, Steve runs up as I am walking the mooring and line back and he is able to get the line through and we are secured. I am thinking about starting a universal mooring design LOL, I can only wish. Expecting someone to come out and collect for the mooring, but no one does they are free for now. Dinner on board and finally have a nice breeze during the night to keep the boat cool and comfortable, that is until the 1 am shower that wakes us to do our hatch closing dance. Friday morning we enjoy the beautiful scenery from the boat as we read up again on Dominica our next stop on our journey south.

link to pictures; https://picasaweb.google.com/103931849054358791487/Guadeloupe?authkey=Gv1sRgCJbBvbSg5MuTtwE&feat=directlink

Antigua

Wednesday 8 June - Monday 13 June

On Wednesday Steve goes to check out with the marina and customs shortly after 8 am, as I get the boat ready for departure. By the time he was returning the skies opened up again and it was pouring – NOT in the forecast this was all supposed to be north of us. We decided to wait a little while for the rain to pass, 5 hours later it finally does. Luckily the marina was not very full, and no one probably wanted to come out in the rain to tell us to move out since we were checked out, so we just stayed in the slip until about 2:30. By that time it was too late to go to St. Barth's so we just went back out into Marigot Bay to anchor. During the pre trip check of the engine Steve saw that the fan belt was ready to go, so while we waited for the rain to stop he changed that out with one of our spares. Anchoring out overnight will allow him to run in to town in the morning to see if he can get a new spare one. No luck finding one, so in hindsight we should have left late Wednesday to do the overnight passage to Antigua, since we had lost a day due to the rain, we decided to give St. Barth's a miss this season and just go straight to Antigua. Thursday it is another no wind day and by 10:30 we are ready to be moving and at least be creating our own wind for some air flow. By 2 we are passing the Island of St. Barth's in very clam seas, running at slow RPM’s so we don't arrive in Antigua at night. As we are passing St. Kitts & Nevis we see a huge storm approaching so we speed up trying to miss it. Almost make it, just catch the tail end of it with rain pouring down and winds up to 37.5 knots which made the seas choppy & confused. Luckily it only lasted about 20 minutes and we were out of it. The seas quieted back down and with the wind shift thought we might be able to sail, but that did not last long. So we are slowly motoring along towards Antigua with just the main, no other boats in sight. Watch a beautiful sunset as we get ready for the night watches. I like to have the sun rising when we are 5 miles off shore so I can see us approaching the Island, Steve plans it to be at the entrance of the harbour at sunrise. So we do a switch in watch rotation so he is at the helm from 3-6, which is when we came around to the south side of the island and he was able to carry the jib. Not for long as by 6 I am up to help take down the sails as we are approaching the entrance to English Harbour. I had actually been here 25 years ago staying at an inn on the beach. Remembering how neat it was looking out at the 2-3 sail boats at anchor. Well there are quiet a few more boats around today. I was not even aware of the marinas in the bay as a point of land restricted my view from the beach. We are anchored down by Nelsons Dockyard Marina by 6:30, waiting for customs to open so we can go check in. Finally someone asks to see our departure papers. Once cleared in we go in to look around the Dockyard, which is much the same as it was in 1745 when it was a British naval station. They have done a great job at restoring and converting the old buildings into modern day shops, inns, a museum and eateries. Next we take the short hike out to the ruins of Fort Berkeley that sits on the point of land jutting out into the harbour entrance. You can see why this was and is such a well protected harbour. Don't have to worry about any attacking nations these days, but it still offers great protection from Hurricanes, many boats already tied up for the season. Have a nice lunch along the waterfront enjoying a breeze, cooling down after being in the sun all morning. After lunch we walk over to Falmouth Harbour along the road. We had seen a huge mast, and were curious to confirm our thoughts that it had to be Mirabella V. Sure enough she along with several other huge sailing yachts are at the marina there. All being worked on before moving on or being secured for the hurricane season. Falmouth is another good anchorage bigger and more open so subject to a little more rolling if anchored out. Walk back to English Harbour and ask about the tents being set up along the waterfront. This weekend they will be hosting a sports fishing tournament and have 43 motor boats competing so will have food & drink vendors and music playing during the event. Back to the boat for a cooling off swim and a relaxing evening on board. Early night since neither of us slept much on the overnight passage and it was a long hot day. Saturday we are ready to take on a more challenging hike, the middle ground trail, going over to Pigeon Beach. It is only about a mile long but 1/3 is climbing straight up, 1/3 climbing down and the other (less than) 1/3 on level ground. There were some places climbing up that a slip would cause serious fall & injury. But the views along the way were spectacular and well worth the effort. Once to the other side we were very glad to see the beach bar & restaurant open, drop our stuff off and go for a swim before relaxing with a cooling drink and lunch. This was a one way hike for me so we took the road back and were surprised at how quickly we got back, but no views along the road. Once back at the Dockyard it is 3:30 and activities are supposed to start at 4 so we hang around watching as things are set up and some of the early boats start to come in with their catches. We run back to the boat to change clothes and come back in to eat. Steve always wanting to try something different or unusual went for the goat water stew and pigs tail soup, I went for the grilled shrimp. Another great day in paradise. Sunday spend the day in the shade of the cockpit reading up on our next stop of Guadeloupe. Go into shore around 5 to catch a taxi up to Shirley Heights Lookout restaurant & bar. The restaurant / bar has been around for 30 years, it is actually on the sight of an old British lookout fort. The views are impressive but it has become too much of a tourist trap since I was here 25 years ago, they even charge you just to enter the property !!! Food & drinks were reasonable and listening to the steel drum band and people watching was fun, but won't be in a hurry to go back again. Found a taxi driver to bring us back down for the same price as we paid to go up, arriving back down to the wet crowded streets of the dockyard. No rain where we were, but plenty down at the marina, did not seem to disrupt too much of the tournament activities, as a lot of people still hanging around. Back to the boat to see how much rain came in through the port holes that we had left open (hatches were closed). Wasn't to bad, and since it was fresh water it was easy enough to clean up. Monday Steve wanted to walk up the trail to Shirley Heights Lookout so we go over to the beach where it starts. Since it is a higher ridge than the one we climbed the other day I waited for him on the beach. Turns out it was a much easier climb than the other side, which makes sense since a lot more people climb up this hill. He got some great day pictures of the view overlooking the Harbour, and I had a pleasant time relaxing on the beach. Dip in the ocean then a rinse off in the pool before lunch at The Inn's restaurant on the beach. Back to the boat to work on a clogged head problem, marine toilets tend to have a higher frequency of clogs than their land based counterparts. Steve had established a rule that the person that clogs it up cleans it, but he had mercy on me this time and did the dirty deed. Establishing who is the guilty party is not as easy to prove ( LOL ). Afternoon relaxing in the cockpit listening to a good band from over at the marina. Went to see what was going on but it was a private party of a Danish group making a film. Tuesday we will check out with customs in the morning and I will go by the Post Office to mail my postcards. The PO closed early on Friday and Monday was a holiday here. Apparently selling stamps is very restricted in the Islands as ONLY the Post Office can do so. Then off to Guadeloupe !

link to pictures; https://picasaweb.google.com/103931849054358791487/Antigua?authkey=Gv1sRgCNmPmLPN9aKHtwE&feat=directlink

St. Martin / St. Maarten

Monday 30 May - Tuesday 7 June

We head over to Spanish Town, on Virgin Gorda in the BVI'S to check out with customs, all goes smoothly with not too long of a wait. We now have some time to kill as we will be doing an overnight passage so do not need to leave until late afternoon. We go and check on Joe & Tammey's boat Tammera Sue that they had left to be hauled out to stay on the hard during Hurricane season. Chris & Robin on Toucan Dream are also there getting their boat ready to be hauled out the following day. What a job that is to get your boat ready to leave it on the hard for a few months, glad we do not have to do that. Back to the boat to get her ready for an overnight open water passage. With the little day hops it was easy to leave things laying on the counters and we kept the dinghy on davits on the back of the boat. With a passage we want everything secured away and we deflate and put away the dinghy. We have good weather predicted but better to be prepared before going off shore. At 3 we motor sail south past Virgin Gorda out the cut by Ginger Island. Saying goodbye to the BVI'S as we turn east into 15 knot winds, jib rolled up main out, only 1-3 foot seas so able to stay on the rhumb line and still have a comfortable ride for the next 80 miles. It was another hot, humid, light wind day as we got ready to leave and we were both still hot. So since it was smooth enough, Steve took a deck shower & I for the 1^st time take a quick shower down below while underway. Steve had made an extra dinner the day before so we are ready for the overnight passage. A quiet moonless night just 3 boats passing heading west and one cruise ship off in the distance. We are making great time, over 6 knots and up to 7 when we had thought with current and wind against us we would do 5.5 to 6 knots of speed. So going faster this time is not a good thing as it will put us entering St. Martin before sunrise, so we slow down. By 5 am we are just 5 miles out so slow down a little more, also trying to avoid a nearby thunder cloud between us and the island, get a little rinse and by 6:30 we are anchored in Baie de Marigot. There are many options for anchoring and checking in, we have chosen to enter the bay / lagoon and check in on the French side. So we are anchored in Marigot Bay waiting on the 8:15 bridge opening as the morning is heating up. They say that the bridge monitors VHF 16 but when we call to say we will be entering we get no reply. There are several other boats waiting so we all just line up and wait. Outgoing traffic has priority, and it becomes obvious that there is some as the Catamaran first in line to go in starts to back out the channel. We make it through the Sandy Ground Bridge that is only 32 ft wide, why it is a one way at a time bridge and into the huge inner lagoon. We are re-anchored by 8:45 in the middle as we know after checking in we will head over to the marine stores on the Dutch side. We could have stayed out in the bay and gone in by dinghy to check in but since we would be making several trips to different stores the calmer / smoother waters inside make for better dinghy rides. The check in on the French side is self serve on the computer then you take the paperwork to the guy downstairs and pay your $7.50 and you're legal. The self service computer took a little longer as the guy in front of us checking out did not know how to use a computer so a young girl came to help him. She was trying to be nice and helpful and stayed to help us, typing our info in one finger at a time. Verifying that Iowa City, Iowa and New York City were both in the USA. Except that she misread the passport and entered it as Lowa City, Lowa. Bless Steve's heart he did not knock her out of the way to type it in himself and was very nice thanking her for her “help”. We are cleared in free to go anywhere on the island. If you enter via the Dutch side bridge, which is newer, wider (56 feet to handle the Mega Yachts), and deeper they charge you to enter through their bridge opening where they do not do that on the French side. If you plan to anchor on the Dutch side there is a fee for that also, so we did like most check in on the French side then just go do your shopping on the Dutch side. No fees to anchor in any of the many bays surrounding the island on either side. First stop is to an electronic shop as our inverter-charger had started malfunctioning the night before we left the BVI'S. Steve was pretty sure it was the cooling fan that failed, and they confirmed it when we went by the shop to get a new fan. The guy had the same model out in his workshop so showed Steve what to do. Went for a longer then planned lunch as a big group got in right before us, but even though we were on the Dutch side we acted French and had a 2 hour lunch break. Next stop over to Budget Marine and Island Water World two big chandleries to see what is available. Finding a lot of spare parts but did not have the list with model #'s so will come back when we confirm which are the right parts. I did finally find a dinghy ladder that I had been looking for since the Annapolis Boat show. Should have listened to Jan when she said to get it, and we meant to go back for it but didn't. I am sure the boat show price was better but I am so happy with my new ladder, have already used it and it works great. I no longer have to do my beached whale impression getting back into the dinghy after snorkeling. A dinghy tour of the lagoon to see where other things are then back to the boat. Steve spends the rest of the afternoon and early evening sweating his way through changing the cooling fan out. The inverter-charger is located back in the “equipment room” a space with very little air flow that gets very hot and of course at an awkward position to get to !! Wednesday June 1 – Hurricane season begins and we are praying it stays quiet thru June so we can get further south. Back to the boat stores with the shopping list of spares and things to get. The Dutch might not have gotten our entry fee $ but they are making up for it with these two stores. Back to the boat for lunch then over to the French side to explore the town of Marigot – the French Capitol. The Island is duty free so they have shop after shop after shop of just about anything you could want. Not much more to the town than shops and restaurants! I just want a post card which is actually hard to find among all the clothing stores. Then I have to go to the post office to get stamps, a long line as they do money orders and Thursday is a holiday here so they will be closed. Luckily a man directs me to an express line (sign was in French so I could not read it) for just buying stamps so it does not take as long as I feared. Post cards and stamps in hand we find a place to sit and have a drink while I address the cards to send off. Walk around some more and we go into a little “mall”. I go to use the bathroom and notice a lady sitting out front with a sign (in French) all I recognize is the $1 part, but there is a phone near by so I thought she was selling phone cards. I come out of the restroom and comment to Steve how beautiful they were and he tells me that is why you pay to use them. Apparently that is a very French thing to pay to use the public restrooms, and it was well worth it. Enjoy a great dinner by the marina and dinghy dock, before heading back to the boat. Thursday weather prediction of no wind no waves means time to go visit other bays, so we along with 10 other boats are waiting for the 8:15 bridge opening to leave the lagoon. Motor sail up to Grand Case Bay and the town of Grand Case a town known for its restaurants. Only a few other boats there when we arrive but as the day goes on more come into anchor. Steve has some work to do on the computer, so we spend a relaxing day swimming off the boat and smelling the cooking from shore. We head into shore around 5 to check out the town and walk up and down the street reading menu’s trying to decide which one to eat at. Slow season and a quiet night so all the places have someone out front trying to encourage you to choose their place. You could spend a couple of weeks here just enjoying the beautiful beach and trying a different restaurant or 2 a day and be very happy. The smell of BBQ from the LoLos (5-6 local places serving up BBQ ribs, chicken, & fish) had my mouth watering all day and they looked just as good as they smelled. But Steve wanted something French so we found a place he could have frogs legs and duck and I found a veggie pasta dish, both were delicious. Friday we take the dinghy over to Rocher Creole, a rock island part of the marine park to go snorkeling. Only one other boat there when we arrived but by the time we made it around the rock island the place had filled up, glad we got there before the crowds. Back to the boat for lunch then off to a little island off the northeast coast called Tintamare. A uninhabited island with a beautiful sand beach on the southwest side and a reef on the northeast side. Pick up one of the nicest moorings I have seen and go in to explore the island and swim in the beautifully clear water. Discover it's a “clothing optional” beach, but the ones that have optioned for no clothing should not have. Leave there by 3:30 to head over to anchor in Great Bay off the town of Philipsburg the Dutch Capitol. Take showers and go into town to find the dinghy dock. Steve spots a grocery store so he wants to just look, and he gives me a hard time for just wanting to look in the gift shops. Then we stop by a bank ATM since on the Dutch side they give you a choice of $$ or euros (French ATM's you can only get euros). As we leave the ATM and start to walk down to Front street, the “main” street, we notice everything is closed up, dark and deserted not the place we want to be after leaving the ATM. We are just a street up from the boardwalk and things are much more lighted and lively along here. They are having boardwalk festival night so not all the restaurant or shops are open, but quite a few are as we stroll down to see what we have to choose from. A couple of live bands are setting up and families are showing up to join in the festivities. We find a place for dinner and enjoy people watching as we eat. After dinner walking around stopping for a drink to enjoy some music before heading back to the boat. This anchorage is another they say can get rolly and it does but we have been in worse. Saturday morning we wake up to see a cruise ship has come in, yeah that means the stores will be open. What a difference between day & night, more people were out Friday night with less places open. Now during the day with just one cruise ship in port everything is open all along the boardwalk, and Front and Back Streets. Again with a person standing out front trying to get you to come into their store or eatery, even taxi drivers seeing if you need a ride. I had broken my cheap pair of polarized sunglasses, and wanted another pair for off the boat (our good ones we leave on the boat so as not to loose or break them) and found a pair for $15. We like Philipsburg with the boardwalk and the 2 main streets as a much nicer walk around town then the French town of Marigot. Stop at a Persian restaurant for an early light shared lunch before leaving Great Bay to head to Simpson Bay, on the opposite side of the lagoon form Marigot Bay by the Dutch bridge. Go through the bridge by dinghy (free) make an exchange and get a few other boat things we thought of. As we are ready to go in to Buccaneers for a drink and listen to some live music we get a short shower. Rain stops so we head in for a while and enjoy some good music and meet a new friend before returning to the boat for dinner. Sunday we complete our circumnavigation of the Island by returning to Marigot Bay under very hazy conditions. With the foretasted bad weather due on Monday & Tuesday we decide to go into the Marina Fort St. Louis located on the north end of the bay. As we approach we call on the VHF radio and get no answer so we were going to get fuel so just go to the fuel dock and try to call again with no answer. Get tied up with help from someone walking by who reminds us they are French and close for 2 hours for lunch and to call them back at 2. Have lunch on board while we wait until 2 when we can get a hold of someone to come down to give us fuel and direct us to a slip. Get the boat tied up just as it starts to rain a little, go check in with the office and then Steve loads all the gas cans into the dinghy to go get gas, as they only had diesel at the marina. He makes it back just in time for the heavy rain, glad to have power to run A/C with this hot humid rainy weather. Monday turns out nicer then predicted, overcast skies, hot & humid but no rain yet. My left knee (real one NOT implant one) had been hurting when I did any kind of rotation motion. Not sure what I did just started really hurting. I had been wearing an old knee brace but it was not really giving me much support and I knew I needed a better one. Marina directed us to a doctor up the street so we walked up, entered into the waiting room, no reception and waited with a few other people there. A short time later the door opens and the doctor wearing jeans and shirt comes out with a patient and says next. After the 3 ahead of us are done we go in, no paperwork to fill out just name age and what is the problem. He takes a look at my knee moving it around and says it is ligament damage and I need a better knee brace to immobilize my knee for a while and it will heel on its own. Writes me out a prescription for a knee brace. Next he looks at a lesion on Steve's arm that has been there a few weeks and irritating. Turns out it is a wart, writes a prescription for something for that, pay him $80 for both of us and we are done. Next door to the pharmacy and RX 's filled just in time for lunch. I am walking a little slower as this knee brace restricts the bending much more but that is what I was looking for and can feel the difference in the support to my knee. Back to the boat still cloudy, hot & humid but no rain. Steve works on a boat project of putting a photo-cell sensor on for the anchor light so it will come on automatically at dark. This way we don't have to remember to turn it on when we leave in the afternoon so it will be on at night. Tuesday early morning showers then just overcast with no winds. Thinking the weather forecast of storms as missed us, we head out to the grocery store just after an early lunch, pick up a few things and just as we are checking out the skies open up. POURING RAIN !! Called a cab to go back to marina but don't even want to run out to the cab since it is raining so hard. Does not take long to realize we will just have to get wet. Run out & load the cab up, get to the marina Steve gets a cart to get things back to the boat, no need to run as we are soaked thru. Oh well it is all fresh water so won't hurt, get things on board, into dry clothes, dry everything off to put away, time for a Bloody Mary ! Decision Decision Time !! As I have said we are one of the last making tracks south this late in the season. So it is time to get going and we have decided we will come back up after Hurricane season in November to explore more of the Islands we will miss or not see enough of on the way down. Wednesday morning we are heading south.

Link to pictures; https://picasaweb.google.com/103931849054358791487/StMartin?authkey=Gv1sRgCJ6KqoD3tbzYYA&feat=directlink