11th February, Gustavia, St Barts. We left Antigua yesterday at 0830 on a
poor weather forecast for the BVI's, but decided we would anyway make a
start with the option of stopping at St Barts if there was no improvement.
Wind and sea were benign as we rounded the southern and western coast of
Antigua and we were stuck at about 6 knots in 12 knots of wind. Very
pleasant until about mid day when the wind backed more to the north and
increases to 20+ knots. Within a couple of hours the swell had built up to
ten to 15 ft and the wind was gusting to 30 knots. As we had the wind
slightly aft of the starboard beam this was no real problem but a little
uncomfortable and both John  and Anita were feeling queasy in short order.
We reduced our sail to about 60% of the 145 Genoa but were still smoking
along at 7+ knots. Although we were indicating a good speed the sea state
was reducing our average simply by throwing us about. As mall amount of
spray on deck. We opted for St Barts mid afternoon as whilst the weather was
not that bad the squalls were increasing in intensity which meant we had to
be on our toes all the time. For the last 4 hours Osprey was really smoking
along at 8+ knots and when the seas dropped as we entered he lee of St Barts
we topped 9 knots for a while. The harbour at Gustavia was very crowded and
we had to pick our way through the collection of super yachts and cruisers
until we could find a vacant slot big enough for us. The French as usual
(and only exceeded by the Germans) made life difficult by not having any
lights on their yachts.  The wind was now gusting 30 knots even in the
harbour but Anita made a great job of getting the anchor down in 30 ft of
water along with 125ft of chain to ensure we did not move during the night.
Our stern was only 30ft from a large channel marker buoy by the time we
finished but that provided us with a useful reference point to check we were
not dragging the anchor. It was 2230 by the time we were finished and we
were both ready for a shower and some sleep. Our wonderful Bruce anchor held
without a blink throughout a night of very gusty conditions and we had a
trouble free sleep. We were both starving this morning so a hearty breakfast
went well. The weather forecast is not good for the next 48 hours and
although non of the weather would really bother Osprey we have decided to
take our time and stay in Gustavia for today then move on to have a look at
the national marine park tomorrow. We can then leave there for the day sail
to the BVI once the wind was died down somewhat. Retrieving the anchor in
this wind could if anything be more tricky than letting it out.