Back to Nevis
Seaduced
John & Jane Craven
Mon 5 Mar 2012 15:53
| What a journey over - the forecast had woefully underestimated the wind again!! The trip was about 30 miles and for the first 10 miles we had winds mostly in the 25-30 knot range with high seas, not pleasant, but once we got the boat settled and sailing it was fine, she handled very well and we made good time. Once we arrived alongside St Kitts however the wind died to about 6 knots so, in order to continue to sail, we headed off shore a bit and then had fairly steady winds of about 20-25 knots. Once the wind was consistently hitting 30 knots we headed back to the coastline - what started as a good sail in challenging conditions had become an endurance trip, not entirely necessary!! Once we arrived in Nevis however the wind died to about 3 knots and we moored in almost the same place as last time. One new problem though - after the high seas, and the pounding she got on the trip down, we now have a leak in the front cabin which will probably need to be completely dismantled - happy days!!! We are here for about a week, or some rest and recuperation, and hopefully some calm nights - we can count on one hand the amount of good night's sleep we have had in the last three weeks. We went to our favourite beach bar on the night we arrived, for home made burgers and real chips - what a treat - and to catch up with some friends. For a treat, we were invited ashore to the house of Mark & Lyndetta, the beach bar owners. We first visited the house in November, and it was interesting to see how much work they have done in the meantime. It is a huge project, and will in time be part house, restaurant, cookery school and hotel. In order to return the favour of a night's dinner, bed and breakfast, John along with the other 2 guys who were invited as well, spent the afternoon helping Mark install a plumbing system to catch rain water from the roof and channel it into enormous cisterns underneath the veranda. This took most of the afternoon and, despite being a bit like the 'blind leading the blind' at times, they got it finished although not without some guidance from Lyndetta, the real project manager!! The boys were all hopeful for rain at some point so they could test their handiwork, and although it did happen, there wasn't really enough to make a noticeable difference in the enormous tanks!! We are now back on the boat and intending to stay here until Saturday, as the winds are forecast to be high all week, and we will then head off to Guadeloupe. Plan A is to spend the time relaxing and trying to find the source of the new leak in our front cabin - there is always something!! |