by Pam Graham
February 1993
Kapalua II‘s intrepid crew made their first landfall in the Caribbean Islands at the beautiful Marigot Bay. As they set out to explore the other Caribbean islands, they discover that while not every bay is as beautiful, island life certainly has a charm that is very hard to beat ...
After Christmas festivities and meeting local families with invitations to every occasion, we sampled spicy, peppery food and learned the local patois, which is a mixture of French and English. We were taken on a walk in the rainforest, visited the drive-in volcano, sulphur springs and a spectacular waterfall.
New Year’s Eve is known here as Old Year’s Night and as everyone went to bed early, we were invited to celebrate on board the training ship, TS Astrid, recently out of England. They fired the cannon at midnight which brought the local police running onto the streets wondering what was happening! This contact with Astrid resulted in all four of us taking part in an afternoon’s sailing with the new trainee crew.
After we said goodbye to our Atlantic ‘crew’, we headed north against advice, as the winds were predominantly northerly at that time of year. We didn’t find it too much of a problem as the islands are so close to each other; a day’s sail, 30nm or no more than 60nm. From Marigot Bay, we sailed a few miles north to Rodney Bay where Len finished making the sail for the dinghy on our sewing machine. He also finished the mast, sprit and boom (Optimist-style) and both of us sailed in the bay. Great fun!
On Saturday January 23, 1993, we sailed for Martinique with two young Swiss who had delivered a boat and needed to get back home to Lucerne. On our trip, the two Swiss acquitted themselves with flying colours as Perkins (our engine) let us down just as we were approaching the port of Fort de France. They were able to sail Kapalua whilst we went below and bled the engine. We anchored as soon as all was well and next morning, the Swiss
dinghied ashore for croissants and French bread … this was civilization!
Again and again Perkins failed, so we consulted the Perkins agent, who said it sounded like the injector pump. Wasn’t that the item reconditioned in Brittany back in August at such expense? Here we go again! We organized a berth in the commercial port, close to the cruise ships, which caused not a little curiosity: “Oh gee! Did you come all the way across the lil’ ol’ Atlantic in that dear little boat?” Just a minute! I thought we’d got a big boat! Since our arrival over here, we are the proud owners of a little 40 footer! Almost every other boat is bigger.
Two weeks later we set off north and still the engine note was rising and falling. We checked out St. Pierre, where a long time ago, the volcano erupted and killed all but the guy in the prison! Sailing on to Dominica, the next island, we were back in an English-speaking country. Each island has been fought over by French, English and Dutch. Interesting legacies have been left behind.
The Dominicans are by far the most genuine and friendly people we have met. We took many (mini) bus rides and by the end of each journey, everyone knew everyone else and there was quite a party atmosphere. Walking along the streets, people spoke to you, wanted to know you, where you came from and to tell you what to see and where to go on the island.
We swam in Soufriere Bay in “champagne” … this is an area where the volcanic releases are underwater and a constant stream of bubbles results. The sea bed is like an enchanted garden with brilliant greens, reds, oranges, purples, mauves and yellows. Fluorescent coloured fish abound.
At the other end of the bay is Scotts Head where we snorkelled and saw a stingray, as well as many more tropical fish and coral. It was a superb visit and we would definitely return to this island. Dominica, for us, was the most beautiful island we have seen so far.
On our way north, we visited Iles Saintes, a group of French islands 15 miles north of Dominica and south of Guadeloupe. The English fought hard to keep these islands; apparently the choice was Canada or The Saintes, as they were known. These islands were settled by people from Brittany and the evidence of this is in the style of their fishing and sailing boats. We hardly saw any Afro-Caribbean people in these islands. They are pretty islands, very hilly and green. The only town is attractively laid out and well worth a visit. We saw an iguana over two feet long and lazily sunning itself on a rock.
After a few days enjoying the scenery, snorkelling, swimming and dinghy sailing, we moved north to Guadaloupe. We took the west coast passage as the winds were more favourable, and stopped south of Basse Terre to clear Customs. The French islands have a relaxed attitude towards officialdom. They have the same form for all islands you visit. They will stamp your passport if you ask, but otherwise, don’t bother. They are pleasant and it is a mere formality. One up to the French!
We spent a horrible night at anchor off Pigeon Island, without diving or snorkelling in what Jacques Cousteau calls the “best diving in the world”. The next shallow dent in the coast was Deshaies, where we visited the “market”, a van that visits every Friday and sells its wares parked in the street. Guide books can be very deceiving.
The trip to Antigua was ten hours of hard sailing, into the wind. Quite an experience for our guests. Antigua was totally different. We arrived at English Harbour, a museum relic built by Nelson for his fleet in the Caribbean; a true hurricane hole with careening facilities for his ships and massive chains under water to which they set their anchors in the likelihood of a storm. It is fully restored and operational as a harbour.
We arrived at 1600 on a Saturday and while we were sitting at anchor on Sunday afternoon, we were reminded that this was the Caribbean as steel band music wafted across the bay from one of the forts on Shirley Heights.
After our visitors left, we did more work on the boat and prepared for my mother to join us. During the visit she celebrated her 80th birthday and this holiday was to be a totally new experience for her and something of a challenge. I can only say that she certainly rose to the occasion and mastered everything, even getting in and out of the dinghy on shore with a considerable swell. Good on you, Mum!
We have taken great pleasure in the wildlife we have seen, in and on the sea, on shore and in the air. We have identified 20 different species of tropical fish, seen a turtle, a whale, dolphins, starfish, three types of urchins, sea anemones, cucumbers, multi-coloured slugs three feet long, 15 different types of coral, all colours of the rainbow, and rainbows so vivid you feel they are permanent. We have seen all this by snorkelling, but have yet to dive in a picturesque location. Up till now, our air bottles have been used to scrub the hull and Len has done most of that. The birds are quite magnificent … the Frigate bird, snowy egret, mountain dove, hummingbirds, royal terns, bananaquit, grassquit, etc. Shells are very colourful and exotic shapes and are often used in jewellery and ornaments in the tourist shops.
Antigua has 365 bays and it is drier than all the other islands we had visited so we were happy to stay a while. However, the winds were right so we left for Nevis and St. Kitts where we had someone to contact. Nevis Customs and Immigration were painfully protracted and we were made very aware of our “foreignness”, to the extent that we actually felt unwelcome. This was by far the worst reception we had experienced in the Caribbean. What a pity, and so unnecessary, as we later saw the island, which was very attractive.
On meeting the people, we found a divided society, though all people were only interested in the welfare of this lovely island. No crop growth except Government-initiated, no self-help ethic was apparent and a total disregard for their environment existed. There was a strong “find out for yourself” attitude amongst many locals in the shops, tourist office and taxi drivers.
The anchorages, like Dominica and Guadeloupe, were small indents in the coastline and always with a swell, making dinghy landing quite hazardous; many times we were swamped and fell over, but luckily, Mum did not seriously hurt herself.
We visited St. Kitts over the Easter holiday without a boat pass (ssshhh!) as no Customs officers could be found on weekends and holidays. I wonder why they make such a fuss about drug running and smuggling? We were glad to leave. After one abortive attempt, when the wind and seas turned nasty, we actually grounded and scraped over some rocks on an unmarked reef. Some fishermen kindly led us to safety, but Perkins decided to play up and stopped, so we returned to Nevis for the night. Next day we prepared ourselves for a night crossing. Mum went to bed and we motor-sailed from Nevis to Antigua in 17 hours. An experience she could have done without. After wrestling with Customs in St. Johns, Antigua, we went around to Deep Bay with a sigh of relief.
As we leave you in Antigua this time, you can see we rightly earned the title “Caribbean Crawlers” as we do like to stay awhile, get a feel for the place and join in whatever is on offer.
