17:08:9N 062:37:9W

Pinney's Beach, Charlestown, Nevis
Monday 9th February 2015

Matelot sited again.
Met Pippy and Richard from Matelot again, last time we had seen them, they were waving goodbye as we sailed off from Santa Cruz, Tenerife, to begin the Atlantic Crossing. We radioed them as we saw them enter Dashaies Bay. We met for lunch ashore and they introduced us to Helen and Simon from Interlude a brand new Hanse. Helen and Simon are also sailing to Australia on our time scale. Pippy, said they had a change of heart and were again going to go through the Panama Canal this year at the end of March. So perhaps we'll all go through together?

St Kitts and Nevis
We set sail for Charles town, Nevis at 1800 an overnight passage. Arrived 0730, couldn't find the yellow clearance bouts, so radioed in and were told they were all white now. Nevis is a deal town, it is busy and has a sense of being there for the community. It also has a real colonial look to the buildings, many are made of stone with big verandas.

Charlestown - Exorbitant Port fees...EC$112! (about £28)

We had already given customs EC$20, but got charged more.
We wandered about town, bought bread, negotiated to see if there was any point in haggling on a taxi tour price, since the govt had set the price. Yes, drivers were happy to negotiate so long as we don't book through the tourist office.
Back to WD , lunch, sleep, swim and a shower. It is great to have enough power available to run the water maker when we can, use the auto pilot and charge cameras etc. The solar panel and wind generator have been a really positive addition.
As it cooler we went ashore to explore and reconnoitre a beach grill for this evening. Several available, we feel it safer to check for coming ashore hazards and how clean they are during daylight. Beach landing this evening, no dinghy dock.