Week ending 24th March

Nightsong
Thu 25 Mar 2010 20:21
Dear Blog
 
The McCanns safely arrived Nelson Dockyard the evening of 18th March. Unfortuantely the jib repair was not finished but North came good the following morning and brought it down to the boat. They decided that the UV strip was not worth replacing - North will provide evidence to Elvstrom Sobstad what a singularly bad build their laminate was - so I shall try redress but I am not hopeful. In the afternoon we left for Five Island Bay where we enjoyed a beautiful bay all to our selves - see picture 
 
Off next morning to St Kitts a distance of about 43 miles. A good sail in E4/5 with full main and jib. Found the marina at Basseterre much more welcoming and it had space. On a semi pontoon over the side. AJB spent the usual time doing customs (tho immigration had to wait until the next day. That day we all went on the famous train trip around St Kitts - a narrow gauge railway that used to be used for picking up the sugar cane to take to the mills but is now converted to tourism. Spectacular scenery and fun but expensive at $90 per head. Christopher spent no time in working out what the Alaskan owner was making on his investment.
 
Upstairs open air and downstairs airconditioned luxury
 
Back to the boat then out to an excellent lunch which Christopher treated us all to at the Rawlins Plantation on the NE coast of ST Kitts now converted to a hotel/restaurant. That night we decided to leave the marina and try to get closer to St Barts by anchoring behind the reef at Dieppe where we had seen a yacht from the train. Unfortunately we arrived a bit late to see the shoals and with an unreliable chartplotter map dropped the hook too far out in shoaling water so had a terrible night in an easterly F6.
 
Off next day at 0630 to St Barts - more comfortable under way than rolling and pitching at anchor. About 28 miles which we accomplished in a good F5 wind with a reefed main and rolled down jib in 4 hours. Another excellent meal at Wall House that night. Kicked out by 10am because the Barts bucket superyachts were starting to arrive for the race that starts Friday 26th March. I guess about 50 or 60 +100fters. An amazing spectacle it must be! Schooners, sloops, ketches the lot! Including 2 J class Ranger and Velsheda
 
Off to Anse de Colombier again for lunch and a leisurely swim and stroll along the beach. Great fish everywhere including sting rays on the bottom- and a turtle the first since the Tobago Cays.
 
Finally on to St Martin or rather the Dutch half St Maarten where we moored inside the lagoon at the Simpson Bay Marina. Strange place - very wealthy and still use the guilder. An enormous number of superyachts in the lagoon at about 10 marinas.
 
I had a hell of a job clearing customs and immigration in the short time available - Christopher unluckily dropped the outboard in the water. Luckily a diver recovered it for me 2 hours later and I washed it through with fresh water, took the carburetor off and cleaned it, used a can of WD40 on it, and it started!! Seems as good as new now!
 
AJB