Montserrat
Despite many sailors avoiding Montserrat due to the
anchorages being pretty rolley at times, we ventured in to the lagoon of the
main anchor area of Little Bay.
This is gradually developing as a town, as a result of many
Montserratians de-camping from other areas of the island such as the main town
of Plymouth which is now a danger zone and abandoned as a result of the volcano
digging the town deep down in thick lava ash. It is quite a site to see how the island
has been affected and we took a day trip with a knowledgeable local taxi driver
who told us all about how it had affected the island. The main golf course in what is known as
‘Zone 2’ can no longer be seen and this zone prohibits entry at night. It is clear that many people have lost
or abandoned their beautiful homes and the island is lush with nature and
tranquil as a result of the lack of residents. It is a double edged sword where the
suffering of the locals has been to the benefit of nature as it thrives in its
untouched playground. Along the
coast line, we picked up natural pumice stones and ventured to see what is left
of some of the houses in the area previously known as the Beverly Hills of
Montserrat. We were greeted by a
roof and a top window which was quite something to see as the lower floors were
deep underground. It is very weird
peering through the windows of what has been left behind. To give a scale of the impact, before
the volcano 25,000 people have now been reduced to 5,000 with little indication
of when the volcano will tire itself out
– many have been given sanctuary by the British government, and other
have fled to Antigua. The
prediction of a flow for 5 years is now some 15 years on with regular sporadic
volcanic explosions – the last one being in January 2010 which was one of the
worst. This has lead to groups of
academic geologists camping on the island to discuss their perplexed thoughts on
how long the volcano will continue for.
As a result, there is an observatory which we visited and gives great
views of the volcano and island. We
also went on a walk up long and winding hills to see over the other half of the
island (including Portsmouth) which is in the ‘no go’ zone. To say it was quite an experience is an
understatement!
Aside of volcanoes, the island is also famous for the
legendary Beatles Manager, George Martin who opened up his famous Ace studios at
the end of the 1970’s which has seen some of our best artists of modern times
record legendary hits. Names
include Paul McCartney, Eric Clapton, Stevie Wonder, Elton John and Michael
Jackson to name a few. After
Hurricane Hugo hit in 1989, the recording studio started to diminish as it was
clear that lack of electricity was a real problem to some of the expensive
equipment which could not weather the elements of island life. The studio itself is now pretty much a
shell overlooking the Beverley Hills – itself untouched by the ash, but
overlooking its not so lucky neighbours.
George Martin still has a house which he allows some of the locals to run
as a guest house which is well known on the island. He apparently visits every January and
this was one of the reasons we were not unfortunately able to go and explore his
deserted studio. This said, the
local beach bar next to our mooring was actually from the recording studio and
given to the owner by George Martin.
It has plaques of the famous stars to make you familiar as you sip your
rum and coke, which legend had also acquainted it! Along from the beach bar, is the
main Diving / bar area where a lot of the locals – from geologists to naturists
exploring the local lizards come to chill.
It also bears a British Navy ensign signed by non other than Prince
William who visited last year with his crew from HMS Iron Duke and sunk a few
rums. We chatted to a local
barrister who had left the chambers of Chancery Lane to come and experience the
Caribbean way and told us a bit about how different life and law is out
here! On the morning of our third
day, we said ‘adios’ to Montserrat and its loud funnel winds and swept out
towards Guadeloupe. As we passed
the uninhabited side of Montserrat – in particular Plymouth, we were hit by the
most almighty weather out of nowhere!
The clouds were brown and we can only imagine that our crazy downpour was
the partially the result of heavy clouds hitting the top of the volcano! After another fairly rough ride, we
finally made it to Guadeloupe and dropped our anchor in the sleepy town of
Deshaies in the North of the island – with its typically French architecture and
ways – but most importantly, decent food!!
