Position 17:28.77N 62:59.44W
Freewheel
Julian & Anne Whitlock
Sun 28 Nov 2010 12:35
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Sint Eustatius (Statia) 25-26th
November
We left St Kitts in the late afternoon for
the short 23nm sail up to Statia. We arrived after dark
which was not a problem as there is a large
anchorage with only two other boats in it but were
then nearly run down by a
tug running backwards and
forwards across between the town pier
and the many large
oil tankers at anchor.
Half of this very small island is given
over to an extensive oil storage
depot with massive green tanks everywhere.
It must be one of the largest of this type of
facilities anywhere but seems to have very
little impact on the rest of the island and its people
who are very friendly and welcoming. Surprisingly with all the oil
activity the sea is absolutely
clear and pristine with a number of dive
operators offering holidays which include a lot
of wreck diving which would have appealed
to us if we had more time. The end of the
island not covered with oil tanks is an
extinct volcano with a large forrested caldera
which offers an excellent hike. Alas the
weather for our visit was lashing rain and
squalls so we spent most of our time
catching up on the computer in the equivalent
of a MacDonalds burger bar (the only eating
place we found in town) which has excellent
free wifi and is also the general meeting
place for the local population. Ideal place for
people watching!
When we came to leave we found that our
anchor had fouled an old seabed mooring
pile. As the water was so clear we could
see by snorkelling the problem 10 meters
below but it required donning our scuba
gear to clear. It must have been the only
obstruction in the whole massive anchorage
and we managed to find it!
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