St Martin to Jost Van Dyke Island, BVIs

Whilst out sailing, we heard another boat trying and failing to contact Yachtshots to get some pics taken of their boat. Yachtshots aren’t answering so we leap in and offer to take some shots of them as they take some of us. Quite pleased with the results, the best of the bunch. Certainly better than Yachtshots took of us last time we were here! Shame we didn’t have the reef out!

Arrived in rolly old Simpson Bay, St Martin having sailed overnight through the New Year from Virgin Gorda. So, of course, we have celebratory comfort food of pancakes and maple syrup while we wait for the 9.30am bridge to open. We go ashore in the vain hope of checking-in but, it’s New Year’s Day so very little open. We stay in the lagoon till 18^th getting stuff fixed. We pick up the long-awaited masthead wind instrument which finally arrived safely here via Fedex (never trust US Postal Service, they sent the last one to Japan instead of Jamaica). Also, safely arrived from Trinidad, the new water maker gauge

First time I’ve had my hair cut by someone other than Lynne in over 12 years. Howling winds the first few days have finally inspired us to do something about our noisy wind generator. Mike climbs up to take it apart so we can get the bearing changed. One of the blades has a crack in it now as well. Money pit!

Mike has new toys to play with from the chandler (new bilge pump etc.) and I have some bungee so can redo all the hatch covers which keep working loose. The machine is out ready having already done the statutory sprayhood repairs. Every time we repair it, another seam rots through. Think must have redone every seam on it by now!

2 inarguable facts about cruising. To fix anything, the whole boat has to be taken apart. And, secondly, a week on board comprises 2 lovely days sailing, 2 horrible nights sailing, 1 day enjoying the place you’ve just sailed to and 4 days sourcing parts and repairing things that broke on the sail there!

All this………………

………and this……………………. and 6 hours each……

…..to achieve this (cockpit cushion replacement for one lost overboard on the way here) …..and this (wind generator fixed and reassembled). But, we have our priorities straight and we are back to ship-shape just in time for sundowners!

Yee hah! Reward for yesterday – out to lunch on the French side today. Fab lunch – recommend it to anyone passing through St Martin. Other than that, Mike has changed the engine oil and boy stuff like that and is now ready to depart. Drinks on board Maia, Moody 37, with Peter and Anne with lovely homemade nibbles!

I finally wimp out and book myself into a hotel in Marigot for the night for a shower, some ac and sleep! The wind has been howling through here and gives me the creeps, shades of 1987 UK hurricane fear!I had a lovely time! In between gusts and downpours, it’s hot and sunny.

Stop on the way back to boat for a stock-up. Manage to find a bottle of Pastis at $2.29 so we intend to buy a few bottles of it before we leave here. The orgeat we mix with it, which is a fruit juice, is $1 more! Daft.

Usual stuff ashore including a book swap and picking up a freebie off-cut of window plastic to cut into a cover for the engine panel.  Mike has just replaced the ignition switch which intermittently doesn’t start the engine, so covering it should protect it from the elements a bit better. Thanks to Maia for the handy tip, whose idea we pinched!

We joined Maia, Impressionist, Haymede and Persephone for a happy hour and my first shawarma (a kind of mixed meat kebab in a sort of pitta bread with a lovely garlic mayo).

With the boy champing at the bit to get out of the lagoon, we inch our way up the unbuoyed channel to the French bridge with a low of 0.1m under the keel. The buoys having disappeared in the hurricane which caught St Martin in October last year.

Lots of good news on the internet today! Our wind instrument (still not a trombone!) has arrived via Japan in Kingston, Jamaica and the lovely Paul (manager of the marina in Port Antonio) is arranging to send it to us when we get to Florida. The company who repaired it have already sent us a replacement for this one as it was apparently lost so, with any luck, we’ll have a spare (at $1000 each new or $600 for a repair we are not displeased!)  The parcel with my prescription drugs Hannah sent from UK before Christmas has still not turned up here and we plan to leave tomorrow but that’s no longer a problem as the pharmacy here just sold me them over the counter without a prescription! Final supermarket shop before we get to the grocery desert of the Bahamas and we are good to leave tonight for the BVIs. Impressionist are having engine problems so won’t be leaving for BVIs today so they’ve agreed to keep an eye open for our 2 missing parcels

      Marigot

Overnight last night was the only time for at least another week that wind was forecast of any strength. We were 3 hours out, not having made much progress, when we decided to turn back to St Martin especially as Mike is having concerns again about the batteries lasting. Just at that moment, the wind picks up a little so we decide to carry on, finally getting in to Virgin Gorda 19 hrs later. Steady slow goose-winged sail in not much wind but we still managed over 4kts average. Mike spends a day scraping St Martin barnacles off the hull.

Lovely 3 hour sail to windy Anegada. Caught a huge barracuda on the way over but it got thrown back in because it’s not tasty and it’s a reef fish and we don’t want to risk ciguatera.

The wind generator is howling so boy’s batteries are filling, therefore boy a bit happier! We have to anchor away from the main anchorage which is a blessing as it’s full up with charter cats! We went ashore to get a drink and a Wi-Fi hit with a thought of going back for dinner but with a lobster plate at $50 decided against it.

Lovely 3 hour sail with the gennaker flying to Manchioneel Bay, Cooper Island. (Manchioneel is a very sweet apple type fruit which is deadly poisonous as Paul from Spectra would tell you as he ate one last month!) Horrible price of $30 for mooring ball – that will teach us not to be bothered to anchor!

Off early for lovely 2 hour gennaker sail to anchor in Road Bay. Sole purpose of this trip to get a taxi to Nanny Cay to check out the battery situation at Budget Marine there. Allegedly the batteries we want will be there Thursday. We’re not holding our breath to see if she remembers to email us to confirm! Back to boat to find someone has pinched our ensign and the pole. Fairly annoyed as it was a new stitched one and the pole’s very expensive too. Have to see if Billy can make us a new one! Luckily we have a spare cheap printed one which I bought for when the nice one is in the sick bay to be repaired. It hadn’t had any damage at all so suppose ours was particularly attractive to them. Anchor up and sail over to Peter Island This is a great place as there is only one, fairly unattractive, bar and, therefore, hardly any charter boats. Just settling down to sundowners when Richard and Rowena on Galene turn up. Mike originally met them on Antigua and they were in the yard at Curacao at the same time as us but we missed seeing them there. They sundown with us.

Just to prove to Charlotte that I am actually on this trip, Rowena took a photo of me being ignored by him being inseparable from Internetting with his Kindle!

Not a great snorkel outing but did manage to snap some of the shoal fish which have been bubbling busily around the anchorage all day.

Off to Nanny Cay marina for 24 hours to get the new batteries, apparently they will have the right ones ready for us this morning. Get in to the marina around 11.30am as there’s no way the marina lady is going to let us in earlier! Mike finds out that the batteries won’t be in the store till 3pm, so he’s cross. No problem – they negotiate us a free night in the marina, only have to pay the exorbitant $17 for the electricity! Ashore in the evening for lovely calamari and fish & chip supper – USA size portions meant I had to leave all my chips and just managed to finish the fish. Waddle back off to boat.

Lovely Skype with Charlotte and Hannah. Getting geared up for the California trip now – park tickets booked and a bit of car hire research done!

The intention was to go to the Cruiser party at Cane Garden Bay, good light sail round there to find no room at the inn so we hopped over to East Jost Van Dyke.

Total for the month, only 192nms but 8511 nms since RT left Ramsgate last.