Great Uncle Michael arrives!!
Arion's West Indian Adventure
Hermione & Douglas Pattison
Tue 19 Apr 2016 21:10
The first morning we went over to visit AYACANORA which is the 75 foot boat Michael built many years ago. The current owners were really lovely and let us all have a good look about. Hopefully Michael enjoyed seeing her again as he has many tales to tell about his adventures with that boat.
We then moved Westwards through Charlotte Amalia (Capital of St Thomas- a lovely city to visit, but busy with cruise ships etc) and then on to the Spanish Virgin Islands. It would be really lovely to spend more time in these islands as they are pretty quiet and scenic, however we were conscious that we have a flight to make at the other end for Michael to get home. Off Calubrita we caught a Barracuda, but he bit though our fishing line as we were hauling him in, so got away (I was quietly relieved actually- his teeth looked rather sharp and shiny). The Children were disappointed that they were not going to have home made Barracuda fish fingers for supper!!! The next day, our luck was better and we caught a large yellow fin tuna which fed us for a couple of days. The children watched the whole thing which I was please about.
With our onward journey, we have taken a great deal of advice and done a lot of research to pick a good route forward. The website ‘noon site’, the Caribbean safety and security network, plus ‘freecruisingguides.com’ are really great resources. We have decided to whistle through Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and now Haiti, in order to reach Jamaica where Michel can fly home from. So far I cannot really report on these places as we really have whistled through them without stopping. Puerto Rico, I was a little concerned re security- however all of the locals we met here could not have been more lovely, helpful and kind. The Dominican Republic (we made one stop here in a large Marina for security reasons) was a total pain in terms of bureaucracy. We arrived after a 24 hour passage, at 4 in the morning, and were not allowed off the boat until noon the following day, to allow immigration, customs, the rubbish inspector, the medical inspector etc etc (there were about 8 people including uniformed army officers) to all stand by the boat, fill out forms (not even come onto the boat!!) and charge us lots of money for the privilege. The poor children were amazing considering we were all dying to get off the boat. Uncle Michael was AMAZING at keeping them amused and entertained with various games, while I got rather hot and bothered at all the faffing around!! At last, off the boat we went exploring. The marina is part of an enormous secure holiday complex. We chose this because it is a safe place to be. We somehow managed to hitch hike to the far side of the compound on a rather fast and dodgy golf buggy (Grandma and Grandad would have been proud of the driving, it felt like it was going to tip over at one point!!) and reached a terribly exclusive beach club…… We managed to blag our way in, and suddenly we were being offered fluffy towels by staff in crisp white uniforms, and there was an area with lots of beach toys where the children could help themselves. The afternoon was spent here swimming and enjoying being off the boat for a bit. Michael it seems is a bit nifty at table tennis and managed to give D run for his money!! We had to eat our picnic very secretly incase we were rumbled that we should not have been there. After showering (aaaahhhhh!! fresh water AND clean towels!!) we returned to the boat and prepared for our long passage to Ile a Vache in Haiti.
I write this 15 nm miles from our destination. We have been at sea for almost three days and 2 nights. The children have been fantastic, helped hugely by the presence of Uncle Michael. Unfortunately we have not had masses of wind so have had to do quite a bit of motoring to keep to time, which is noisy and not nearly as lovely as proper sailing. Lots of people ask me how I entertain the children on passage. Well, I got very organised before we left and wrote a timetable of all the activities which we would do while at sea. I have been really surprised at how quickly the time has gone. The key for us has been to stick to a strict routine in terms of mealtimes, sleep times for Alice and then the rest slots in place around that. We have played lots of games, puzzles, drawing, crafts, paper aeroplane making (thanks Auntie Hayley and the Poulains!!) and Michael has made endless intergalactic space stations with Arthur out of everything from Lego to egg boxes!! The children have also helped us with cooking by chopping up salads etc, and the evening ritual of bath time on deck is a real hit as we do not normally bath them unless on passage. We struggle to get Alice out!! During the night, Douglas and I do 4 hourly watches starting at 8pm, and during the day, each of us sleep separately when possible as we have Uncle Michael who helps keep everything on track with the children! It seems to be working very well.
The first night got quite fruity at one point as we were totally surrounded by lightening storms in every direction. We managed to sail our way through them unharmed, but neither Douglas or I managed a wink of sleep off watch as there was quite a lot going on. At least there was some wind so we did not have to motor and made good progress. The Masseys gave us a good tip before leaving- to put your electrical equipment in the oven during a storm so if you are hit, they are protected by the metal box!!
Yesterday evening at sunset as we were just finishing our supper, a pod of Dolphins came to say hello. It was totally magical and Arthur thought that they had come to show us the way and I think he was right!!
Ile a Vache is a tiny island off the southern coast of Haiti. It seems like an amazing place. No electricity or running water. Unfortunately we cannot stay here for very long due to our timings which is a shame. There is lots of poverty here, but the people by all accounts are very friendly and keen to help you. There is an orphanage on the island which I am particularly hoping we can visit. The children and I have been going through our toys/ clothes so that we can give them something when we go. We then leave for another 24 hour passage to Jamaica where we plan to spend a bit of time resting after all of this sailing!!