Brief Stays in Antigua & St. Kitts

We left Deshais, Guadeloupe very early in the morning for the trip to Antigua. It was a really nice sail and great to have the engine off totally for a change. We had hoped to go to Montserrat but the volcano danger level was up and the wind dirction and force prohibited a comfortable anchorage at the island's only "bay". So for the second time we've missed visiting this unusual island! Last time it blew up while when we were only 20 miles away on route for a visit there (see blog entry May 2006).
So instead of an overnight passage down to St. Martin we decided to do three long day trips. The first night we anchored at English Harbor, Antigua near the entrance. This is a beautiful spot but pretty crowded. We were just off the entrance channel but in sight of two old English forts. The top two photos show first looking east to Freeman's Bay with the moon already in the sky and the second looking south to Charlotte's Point.
We stopped in Antigua unexpectedly when that volcano blew and stayed at Jolly Harbor further north and west. We took the bus to English Harbor and walked all around. It's an impressive historic sight and quite charming. We were sorry not to have more time here this time.
The next morning we left early and had another great sail to St. Kitts, arriving at the south end and with good light for The Narrows, the passage between it and Nevis. We anchored in Major's Bay, the only boat. Their is a car ferry dock at the end which closed down early and after that there were no lights or development in sight. We sat quietly and watched the light change as the sun started to set. That's a photo at that time looking past the east point of the bay to Nevis in the distance. Then a movement caught my eye on the shore. At first I thought it was a group of goats - BUT oh no, it was monkeys! A good size group of monkeys passed down the slope, along the water, stopping to play in one of the few trees, and then out towards the point. We watched entranced for over an hour. We had no idea that monkeys were wild on St. Kitts. Cool! I took a bunch of photos but it's really hard to pick out the monkeys. The one shot here shows at least one of them clearly up in the tree.
It was a quiet beautiful night with a full moon and a pretty morning as well. We had another all day sail to St. Martin, arriving late in the day. We anchored outside the lagoon entrance at Simpson Bay and although their was quite a bit of swell, slept pretty well. We're really looking forward to seeing our old friends Ed and Linda on "Dreamtime" and having our youngest son Sean and his friend Courtney visit. More on that in the next blog entry.

St. Kitts to Nevis

Our next destinations, St. Kitts and Nevis, are an independent state with a British tradition and 50,000 inhabitants (Saba has 1500 and Statia 2700 in contrast). The anchorage at St. Kitts was too open to the waves so we stayed in the marina there for three nights. This was a nice change and we enjoyed plugging in and using our air conditioning.
We've anchored all but a few days since our return March 1. That night three boats came over for drinks in our cockpit; two that we've been traveling with off and on; Dreamtime and September Song (they have a 15 month old son, Matis) and a couple we just met, Gretchen and Frank on Infinity. The next day was Mother's Day and it was so wonderful to talk to all four of our children! Luckily our "international" cell phone was working for a change!

St. Kitts has a steep central mountain range rising 3750 feet high but the land, covered with sugar cane plantations, now mostly charming Inns, slopes up gradually from the sea. We rented a car on Monday and drove all around this lovely island - on the left side of the road. Rows of gnarly trees line many of them, leaning away from the sea winds. Two pictures illustrate this, better seen by double clicking on the photos. Brimstone Hill Fortress, a World Heritage Site, is a enormous series of fortifications built on a old volcanic eruption which rises straight out of the sea. This reminded me of the Tolkien's City of Gondor - a series of walled terraced fortifications with the road twisting up and through deep arched gates. One thousand British soldiers held out for some months against eight thousand French there, surrendering eventually with full honors. The fort is being painstakingly restored and is already in great shape. While we were there a tropical downpour occurred cooling everything off nicely.
We also visited two lovely old plantation locations. The first Romney Manor was once the home of Jefferson's great grandfather and although the old manor house has burned down, it is now home to Caribelle Batiks and their charming workshops are scattered in the beautifully landscaped gardens where we saw some of the monkeys which populate this island. The second, Rawlins Plantation Inn, appears like magic after a long narrow card track between fields of sugar cane in a wonderful oasis of lawn, trees and flowers. We had a West Indian buffet lunch sitting on their veranda with a view of the sea and in the distance, Statia.
As each diner completed their luncheon, the birds moved in for the last dregs of the drinks! After that we met the present descendant of the past owners, Philip Walwyn, a renowned yachtsmen who is building a First Rule Twelve Metre - a class of boat used for the America's Cup from 1958 to 1987. It is the only one to be built since 1917 and gorgeous. .His wife, Kate Spencer, is a wonderful artist and her studio and shop is in their home. The boat is being built out in the yard. We really enjoyed her work and bought a signed numbered print of hers.

After the necessary and with the car, easier, tasks of laundry and shopping, we drove down the lovely but almost deserted south end of the island. Newly constructed roads over the hillsides indicate that next time we visit this island, new homes will have sprouted up. We returned the car this morning, checked out with customs and now we're off to Nevis.

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