Week ending 24th March
Nightsong
Thu 25 Mar 2010 20:21
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Dear Blog
The McCanns safely arrived Nelson Dockyard the
evening of 18th March. Unfortuantely the jib repair was not finished but North
came good the following morning and brought it down to the boat. They decided
that the UV strip was not worth replacing - North will provide evidence to
Elvstrom Sobstad what a singularly bad build their laminate was - so I shall try
redress but I am not hopeful. In the afternoon we left for Five Island Bay
where we enjoyed a beautiful bay all to our selves - see picture
 Off next morning to St Kitts a distance of about 43
miles. A good sail in E4/5 with full main and jib. Found the marina at
Basseterre much more welcoming and it had space. On a semi pontoon over the
side. AJB spent the usual time doing customs (tho immigration had to wait until
the next day. That day we all went on the famous train trip around St Kitts - a
narrow gauge railway that used to be used for picking up the sugar cane to take
to the mills but is now converted to tourism. Spectacular scenery and fun but
expensive at $90 per head. Christopher spent no time in working out what the
Alaskan owner was making on his investment.
 Upstairs open air and downstairs airconditioned
luxury
 Back to the boat then out to an excellent lunch
which Christopher treated us all to at the Rawlins Plantation on the NE coast of
ST Kitts now converted to a hotel/restaurant. That night we decided to leave the
marina and try to get closer to St Barts by anchoring behind the reef at Dieppe
where we had seen a yacht from the train. Unfortunately we arrived a bit
late to see the shoals and with an unreliable chartplotter map dropped the hook
too far out in shoaling water so had a terrible night in an easterly
F6.
Off next day at 0630 to St Barts - more
comfortable under way than rolling and pitching at anchor. About 28 miles which
we accomplished in a good F5 wind with a reefed main and rolled down jib in 4
hours. Another excellent meal at Wall House that night. Kicked out by 10am
because the Barts bucket superyachts were starting to arrive for the race that
starts Friday 26th March. I guess about 50 or 60 +100fters. An amazing
spectacle it must be! Schooners, sloops, ketches the lot! Including 2 J class
Ranger and Velsheda
Off to Anse de Colombier again for lunch and a
leisurely swim and stroll along the beach. Great fish everywhere including sting
rays on the bottom- and a turtle the first since the Tobago Cays.
 Finally on to St Martin or rather the Dutch half St
Maarten where we moored inside the lagoon at the Simpson Bay Marina. Strange
place - very wealthy and still use the guilder. An enormous number of
superyachts in the lagoon at about 10 marinas.
I had a hell of a job clearing customs and
immigration in the short time available - Christopher unluckily dropped the
outboard in the water. Luckily a diver recovered it for me 2 hours later and I
washed it through with fresh water, took the carburetor off and cleaned it, used
a can of WD40 on it, and it started!! Seems as good as new now!
AJB
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