21 January 1995 Deep Bay to Charlestown, Nevis
We got up early and started motoring towards Nevis because there was no wind. We passed close to Sandy Island and the wreck of a ship on the reef next to it. There is a navigation light on Sandy Island but it is marked on the chart as being “unreliable!”
We motored for a couple of hours and then I decided to put the spinnaker up. Glenys was suitably surprised since we have never put up the spinnaker because it is quite frankly MASSIVE.
I rigged up a spinnaker pole to port and got everyone ready – Dad on the guy, Glenys on the sheet and me on the halyard. We’ve had problems with the halyard winch on the mast; it is very easy to get riding turns and jam the rope because the winch is slightly at the wrong angle. So I decided to start to pull the spinnaker up with only one turn of the halyard on the winch, expecting to throw a couple of wraps around when I’d got the spinnaker most of the way up.
Unfortunately, we had too much tension on the guy and sheet so before I’d got it half way up, the spinnaker inflated. The force was too strong to hold and I couldn’t get another turn around the winch. I didn’t want to let go in case the spinnaker went into the water and under the boat, so I had to let the halyard slip through my hands. Fortunately, the single turn that I had on the winch gave me enough friction that I managed to stop the spinnaker before it hit the water. My burnt hands were killing me, but I managed to winch the spinnaker into position. The spinnaker was flying for the first time in 2½ years!
I had to cool down my hands in a bucket of water for ½ hour and then coat them with Flamazine. Taking down the spinnaker went well and the rest of the sail was very nice.
We anchored off the idyllic Pinney’s Beach, had a couple of beers and then moved onto rum punches.
22 January 1995 Charlestown, Nevis
Got up late this morning. Glenys, Dad and I went to the supermarket first thing – fortunately they accepted US$ because we’ve only got $80EC between us. We took a taxi up to the Golden Rock Estate and went for a walk into the forest. We had lunch and watched the green back monkeys which come down to the hotel.
Mum, Dad, Brett and I walked back through town to Pinney’s Beach where Glenys picked us up.
On the way back, Brett picked up a coconut and insisted on carrying it back to open it for Grandma. I took over the idea and decided to make a Pina Colada from scratch. It was a bit of a mission to open the husk, get the nut out, shred the coconut flesh and make some rich coconut milk, but I managed to make enough for Grandma and a taste for the rest of us.
23 January 1995 Charlestown to Anse Columbier, St Barts
Another early start. We sailed most of the way; just having to motor during the lulls in the lee of St Kitts.
At one point, the hydrovane started to play up – I checked it and found that the rudder had fallen off! Fortunately, I’d put a retaining line on it so it was still hanging around. We hove to and I managed to put on a new pin with retaining rings on both sides – I’d been meaning to do it for ages.
We had a great sail between St Kitts and St Barts after a bouncy first hour. We had a nice view of “Endeavour” (a J-class yacht) which was sailing around outside Gustavia. We anchored in Anse Columbier just as it started to rain.
24 January 1995 Anse Columbier, St Barts
School work in the morning. Dad and I did Theory 4 and Confined Water 4. After lunch, Mum and the boys went to the beach while Dad, Glenys and I did his OW Dive No. 1. Nice relaxed dive, surprisingly pleasant with lots of fish. I then filled 4 tanks. I’ve put the exhaust deflector on the compressor engine and it runs fine!
Craig has been driving us mad for the last few days because he keeps getting out of bed to go to the toilet before he goes to sleep – about 4 times on average! This evening he started crying and I managed to get him to tell me that he didn’t want to turn the light off. After further probing he revealed that he misses Pilot Bear and burst into tears. I tried to tell him that Pilot Bear has gone to another nice boy or girl but he is still desperately unhappy about it. He’ll get over it but I wish that I had looked inside the suitcase!
25 January 1995 Anse Columbier, St Barts
We motored over to Gustavia and cleared in customs. Glenys went and did some shopping, made some sandwiches and dinghied around to Shell Beach to meet the rest of us. We had a picnic, did some snorkelling and then it rained for ¾ hour. We gave up, went back to Glencora and motored back around to Anse Columbier.
Glenys, Mum and the boys went for a walk. Dad and I read books.
26 January 1995 Anse Columbier to Simpson Bay Lagoon, St Martin
We motored over to Ile Fourche and saw a turtle as we anchored. Glenys, Dad and I did a nice dive at the north point of the bay – Dad’s OW Dive No. 2.
We then motored over to Philipsburg where Glenys and I went ashore to do a big shop. We then went around to Simpson Bay and caught the six o’clock bridge.
Glenys and I went out for a beer or ten with “Chintoo” at a party to celebrate Australia Day. Mike and Marina from “Columbine” were there – nice to see them again. Mike is running “Outfitters” in St Martin. We met Alan and Sharon on “Gringo 2” (UK).
27 January 1995 Simpson Bay Lagoon
Major hangover this morning. We all went into Philipsburg and mooched about. Dad bought a diving watch but Glenys didn’t like the look of any. We ate out at Burger King which the kids loved, but Grandad hated.
We stopped off at the bar at Lagoon Marina because “Mood Indigo” was practicing there. We stopped by at “Sahara Blue” and picked up a fax from Gareth.
28 January 1995 Simpson Bay Lagoon
Glenys talked to Gareth on the phone first thing in the morning. He wants Glenys to help him out, but is only going to pay $350 US/ week. Glenys said that it wouldn’t be worth our stopping around. Fi stops on the 10 April and flies back to England to have her baby. “Dabulamanzi” will be based around Antigua and Gareth will have to stay behind and miss the birth. He will be able to pick up a cook for the charters quite easily.
Mum, Dad and I went into Marigot by dinghy and I bought a new pressure gauge for my regulator. In the evening, Mum and Dad went out by themselves for a meal at La Palappa. We went to watch “Mood Indigo” perform and saw a lot of friends. I’m fascinated by watching jazz musicians now that I know a little bit about music.
29 January 1995 Simpson Bay Lagoon to Grand Case, St Martin
Up at seven o’clock and round to the fuel dock to fill up with fuel and water. We motored through the dredged channel to the French bridge. There are red buoys at the start of the channel which you have to leave to starboard. There is a wiggly bend at the start which I read wrong and we nearly went aground. We arrived at the bridge at half past eight, but still had to wait 45 minutes before it opened. I think they had a problem with the bridge controls.
We motored around to Grande Case Beach. The boys, Mum and Glenys went to the beach while Dad and I did OW Theory 5.
Grande Case is quite famous for its restaurants and bars. They specialise in barbequed ribs, but you can get fish , conch, chicken as well. There’s a wide range of restaurants, from expensive to small local bars. We opted for a small bar and had wonderful barbequed ribs and chicken. The others stayed on the beach while I came back to the boat to fill 4 tanks. I’ve gone t-total for a while because I’m tired of feeling dull all the time.
30 January 1995 Grand Case to Crocus Bay, Anguilla
We had a very nice three hour sail to Anguilla and anchored in Road Bay. We had lunch and then I went to clear in. It didn’t cost anything for Police and Customs, but it costs $15 US per day to visit the off-lying islands. They have designated the areas as National Park so we can’t anchor and have to pick up their moorings. I’m not used to paying to anchor, so I decided that I would only pay for one day! I also asked about diving and was told that I would have to pay $4 US/tank to dive – I told them that I wouldn’t bother.
We had a quick walk around Road Bay, but there’s nothing apart from restaurants, hotels and one supermarket. We motored around to Crocus Bay and went snorkelling.
31 January 1995 Crocus Bay to Road Bay, Anguilla
We left Crocus Bay at half past eight, motored over to Prickly Pear Cays and picked up our allocated mooring (No. P2). The anchorage and island was completely deserted - it is a very pretty island with lovely white sand and turquoise water.
Unfortunately, by eleven o’clock about 10 boats had arrived, most being day charter boats discharging their punters. We went back to Glencora and had lunch. Glenys and I went for a snorkel to the east of the anchorage which has interesting rock gullies.
In the afternoon, we motored around to Sandy Island hoping to find for the perfect desert island. Well, it would be if the hoards of Day Trippers weren’t there. We went to ashore and had a walk around. It is a beautiful little island with a small bar which does food. We left late afternoon and motored across to Road Bay for the night.
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