Saba - N 017 38.15 W 063 15.43

OOJAH's AWESOME ODYSSEY
Peter & Christene Tanner
Thu 5 Dec 2013 00:12
We had a lovely run from Jolly Harbour to Nevis & then had to motor on to Saba. There's nothing quite as sweet as a yacht with new sails & a newly cleaned bottom. Saba is a tiny island of only 13sq km towering 2,900 ft out of the sea with precipitous cliffs & no beaches. It is part of the Dutch Antilles & can thus claim to be the highest point in the Netherlands! There are two delightful villages, The Bottom & Winwardside, but no sheltered harbour which makes it a challenge to visit. Unlike when we passed earlier in the year we had the perfect weather break although C was apphrensive about the 1/2 hour dinghy ride to get from the anchorage in Ladder Bay to Fort Bay where we could get ashore. You can still see the 800 step path where everything came ashore before the steep access road down to Fort Bay was built.
We taxied up to Winwardside & then scaled the 1100 steps to the summit of Mt Scenery, a challenging 90 minute ascent unfortunately ending up in the cloud, seeing nothing but covered in mud. C'est la vie! Unfortunately after only 2 nights we must now be on our way to The Virgin Isles before stronger winds make their presence felt, & this jewel of an island becomes only accessible via its very short 400m runway.

With love, Peter & Christene