Leeward Islands Flotilla Cruise Diary  — January 2011   

By Andy & Jill Cross, Offshore Sailing School Flotilla Leaders                         

St. Martin to Antigua

In January we led two cruises, back to back.  The first cruise was from St. Martin to Antigua. The second, with a new group, headed back to St. Martin from Antigua. This is the diary of the first leg of our cruise.

As our crew members trickled into the marina we received our billets and boarded three well-appointed Jeanneau Sunsail 44s.  Jill, myself, and our mate Rick Bursztyn on Isobard, Henry Stewart, Dwayne Andreasen, and Pauli Young on Le Diablotin, and Jim Tome, Jared Miller, Jim Hurd, and Roslyn Beckman-Hurd on L’Equateur.       

Kicking our cruise off in proper fashion we met for drinks at the Dinghy Dock Sailors Bar followed by a buffet dinner at Captain Oliver’s Restaurant in picturesque Oyster Pond, St. Martin.   

Our first day — A spirited sail to St. Barts

The next morning we went through our chart and boat briefings with the Sunsail staff, finished last minute preparations and departed the marina at 1 p.m. sharp. 

Under full sail with 15 knots of fresh breeze we completed a spirited 10-mile beat from Oyster Pond to Anse de Colombier, a beautiful bay on the island of St. Barts. 

After anchoring or mooring in this marine preserve with other sailboats and some very large private yachts, crews were free to swim, explore the beach and take in the sunset. That night aboard L’Equateur we toasted a great day of sailing and enjoyed our first of what would be many memorable group dinners. Here's Jared Miller and Jim Hurd with Andy (right).

Anse Colombier to Eustatia

After pulling the hook in Anse de Colombier we rounded the corner three miles to Gustavia Harbor, St. Barts.  Entering Gustavia by boat is quite impressive. Private mega yachts (like the one at right) are plentiful serving up some sweet eye candy!

All crews went ashore by dinghy to check out the town of Gustavia while skippers completed our first customs experience.  And I do mean experience.  St. Barts has a computer check in process designed to make life a little easier. Unfortunately, only two of the four terminals were up and running and the French keyboards kept it interesting. No worries though. Our crew took a walk around town then stopped at a waterside bistro for a refreshing drink before heading back out to the boats.

After lunch onboard we were off again, this time to the island of St. Eustatia, a 20 mile gorgeous beam reach, putting us into Oranjestad Bay, Statia by 1700.   Upon arrival crews settled into a new harbor by swimming, enjoying a sundowner, or heading to shore to find ice.  That night the crew from L’Equateur joined us for a steak dinner on Isobard. 
                                                

We're off to St. Kitts

Crews spent the first half of the day relaxing on board or exploring the Dutch island of St. Eustatia, or “Statia” as the locals call it.  Jill, Rick, and I went ashore to check in with customs and the marine park and to discover the island. The town of Oranjestad sits atop a bluff above the bay and below a volcanic mountain known as The Quill.  This charming little town has some of the friendliest locals I’ve met throughout my travels in the Caribbean.  Jill and I left the harbor side and hiked up an old cobblestone road left from the days when Statia was a major trading center in the Caribbean.  Atop the bluff we came upon the 18th century Fort de Windt, with great views of the harbor and nearby St. Kitts. 

Anchors were weighed at noon and we started south for St. Kitts.  During the night the winds had increased and were now at 25+.  Seeing as it would be on the nose we tucked two reefs in the main and proceeded under power towards Basseterre, St.Kitts. Skirting the leeward side of St.Kitts we worked our way down to Basseterre by 3 p.m. where we dropped anchor for the skippers to head in and clear customs.

After clearing immigration the cab driver dropped off our shore party. They enjoyed a nice island tour, bought more ice at a small dock in our otherwise unspoiled anchorage, where I retrieved them by dinghy.  That night dinner was spent aboard L’Equateur with burgers as the fare, some good music and lots of shared stories and laughter.

Close reach to Nevis

The wind was still up during the night with a few stray showers but we awoke to a beautiful calm and sunny bay.  I made bacon, eggs and potatoes for my deserved crew and we had a nice morning swim before departing for Charlestown, Nevis.  Our destination was the mooring field off Pinney Beach, Nevis and we made quick work of the 7 nautical mile sail on a close reach with two reefs still in the main and a full genoa.                                                                                                     

Once moored off Pinney Beach we enjoyed some lunch and I ran into town to procure some ice from a local fish market near the town dinghy dock.  Locals here, like in Statia, were extremely friendly, always willing to help with questions or to just exchange pleasantries while walking through town.  Jill, Rick and I decided to explore Nevis’ capitol Charlestown by foot where we found churches and buildings from the early 1700’s and were surprised to come upon the birthplace of Alexander Hamilton. 

As the sun became due to approach the horizon Jill, Rick and I decided the best place to catch a last glimpse would be on the beach.  We anchored the dinghy near Sunshine’s Beach Bar where we enjoyed a famous “Killer Bee” rum punch and toasted another day.  That night we invited L’Equateur and LeDiablotin over for a party of wine, rum drinks, chicken and fish.  We listened to music and talked until our nightly rain shower chased the crews back to their cabins. 

Down to Montserrat in heavy air

The Pinney Beach mooring field offered a smooth night sleep and we again woke to a calm sunny morning.  After swabbing the cockpit clean of last night’s party it was time again to for another customs run.  Dwayne, Jim, and I went ashore to clear out and after a relatively quick process were back on the boats preparing for our sail down to Montserrat.

Because the wind was still up and not due to abate for another 24 hours we put in two reefs again and started south towards Little Bay, Montserrat.  The winds whipped up between 25-30 knots as we motor sailed into an unforgiving 10-15 swell for the better part of 30 miles.  Montserrat and its volcano Soufriere loomed on the horizon as we made our way south.  This was the type of day that you sometimes just have to endure as a cruising sailor knowing that better days are ahead.  We were rewarded though with a beautiful anchorage at Rendezvous Bay, a smaller quainter neighbor to Little Bay. 

We arrived around 3:30 p.m. covered in salt so a nice swim and shower on the stern was much needed.  That night's dinner was enjoyed aboard LeDiablotin where the hungry crews devoured lasagna before heading off to bed for much needed sleep after our day’s passage.    

My favorite day en route to Antigua

This was one of my favorite days of sailing.  With breakfast consumed we made our way around the northern coast of Montserrat and plotted a closehauled course for Jolly Harbour, Antigua, 25 miles to the northeast.  We started with two reefs in the main and a full genoa as the wind was still up around 25.  About two hours after leaving though the wind and seas started to ease.  Soon we shook out one reef, then were up to full main.  Isobard responded well and we sailed fast hitting 8 knots as the seas subsided.   Approaching Jolly Harbour the water slowly turned from the dark blue of the deep to a beautiful aquamarine.  The wind got shifty coming of the mountains of Antigua as we tacked in near Jolly Harbour so the genoas got furled and the mains doused for our motor into the channel.

Upon our arrival in Jolly Harbour we moored in the field right near the customs station and main marina.  Again, Jim, Dwayne and I head in to do customs and find it slightly easier than what we had experience throughout leg one.  All three offices were actually in the same building! 

Around 6 p.m. we all head in to find a spot for dinner and after walking around looking at menus settle on a Pete’s Steaks and BBQ in the marina.  They split our group of ten into two tables and we dined on superb, fish, steak and pork dishes washed down with our favorite beverages.  Post dinner the crews parted ways with some opting to head back to the boats and others choosing a local watering hole for games of pool with the locals called the Dogwatch Tavern.  
 

Wing and wing to English Harbour

Jolly Harbour offered one of the best night’s sleeps on the trip as the winds were calm and the mooring field well protected.  We slipped our moorings around 10:30 a.m. and headed a few miles to Five Islands Harbour where we anchored in a beautiful bay for lunch and swimming before our last sail to English Harbour.  Our lunch stop was one of those perfect places cruisers dream about when sailing the Caribbean comes to mind.  The crews relaxed, ate lunch, swam, and walked the nearby beach.  Anchors were up at 12:30 and we ghosted out of the harbour sailing wing ‘n’ wing.              

An enjoyable sail around the south side of Antigua put us into our final destination for leg one, English Harbour.  Docked at the Sunsail base at historic Nelson’s Dockyard, those with early flights the next morning had to do their final customs check out.  That night we enjoyed our last meal together at the highly recommended Mad Mongoose.  Some members of the crew left the next morning while others extended their time on Antigua.  A group of us headed up to the famous Sunday night party at Shirley Heights for sunset, BBQ, steel drums and reggae. 

Overall leg one was an excellent week, winds were favorable at times and challenging at others, customs was always interesting, and we scratched the surface of some beautiful islands.  My favorite part of leg one though was definitely the camaraderie between the crews.  Being able to do drinks, dinner, and share in laughter together so frequently was an absolute pleasure and something I will never forget. 

As someone who cruises frequently though, this was definitely a lesson in how cruising depends on things we cannot control and happiness underway is in how you handle and grasp every special moment.  From Jill and I, a sincere thank you to everyone on leg one who helped make it memorable.

To read about the second half of this trip: Antigua back to St. Martins, click here.