17:54.417N 062:51.520W
Whisper
Noel Dilly
Wed 3 Apr 2013 00:27
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"St Barts,
Gustavia - 1stApril"
We left for St Barts after breakfast, the forecast was for easterly wind 25 knots and easterly swells. Our sail was boisterous but under blue skies it was fun, despite the frequent gofers. I found it best not to watch for the waves and just let Whisper handle it all, she really feels quite safe in these heavy seas and happily rides over them, unless they catch her on the nose! Then she stops, kind of shakes herself and heads off again, having soaked us first! We had to tack several times to make St Barts, nobody sails to windward in the Caribbean and I can see why. We arrived at the anchorage, it was like trying to find a parking place in Central London! There were so many yachts and boats at anchor, that we can almost walk ashore. It took sometime but eventually we found a spot and dropped our hook. The ostentatiousness of the mega yachts and cruisers around us is unbelievable when we consider the southern islands we have visited. It is a whole different world up here. Tomorrow we will take Rustle into the harbour, check in etc and do some much needed shopping and hopefully get a good shower and find a water supply to top up our tanks. It looks like a busy day ahead but then we can hopefully clear off to a quiet anchorage for a few days relaxation and odd little jobs that need doing, like our signal halyard. The Q flag has had so much use that th UV rays rotted the cord and when it got wet the other day the weight of it being blown by a strong wind caused it to break and the whole line came down. It will be a bosun chair job up the mast to thread the line again, I might volunteer on the basis that I am lighter, but there again my arms may not be long enough to reach the pulley. Who ever does it we need to wait for the wind to die down first. |