The voyage from St Thomas (USVI) to Trinidad ? - well not quite as far …. to St Lucia

The voyage from St Thomas (USVI) to Trinidad? – well not quite as far ….  to St Lucia (24 May 2015 14 June 2015)

Josie Maria departed Crown Bay Marina in St Thomas for Cruz Bay St John’s to clear customs en-route to Antigua.  Gordon, Charlie and Vicki onboard – with John meeting the yacht in Antigua for the voyage!

Charlie and Vicki check Josie Maria and crew out of the USVI’s followed by a leisurely motor sail to Spanish town BVI’s where we set the anchor and Q flag for over night – planning on leaving early morning for the voyage across the Anegada passage – in the direction of St Martin.  We arrive in St Martin, just after the sun sets and anchor in Simpson Bay with our Q flag up to have some rest before heading to Antigua.

Charlie noted in the log “that we had a lovely run from Virgin Gorda to Simpson Bay.  Although the autopilot did take us in circles at one point and we jibed/tacked x3.  Gordon did get us back on track after 2 attempts….”

I must say that the dimmer on our autopilot has a lot to answer for!!  Our pedestal Raymarine has some faults – now on the maintenance list.  Even with the touch controls off – which stops the salt water making course changes(!!) the menu button sticks and the screen wobbles – making arriving in anchorages at night all the more challenging.  The Raymarine radar keeps going into standby mode as well – so we are using a powerful torch to find a decent spot to anchor and avoid objects in the water!!  Another thing to add to the maintenance list of our almost new yacht. In the evening Vicki makes some cup-cakes for Charlie’s 21^st!!

The motor sail to Antigua was beautiful with calm seas and winds. The wind was blowing at around 10knots, dropping to 5 knots later in the day, there was almost no swell and at times the sea was glass like.  Vicki spotted some dolphins on the port side and we saw many flying fish – also lots of Sargasso weed.  The Caribbean has so much of this weed around and it has a knack of filling our raw water filters!!  We arrive at the entrance of Jolly Harbour Marina as the sun sets at 1900, drop anchor with the Q flag and get to some serious celebrations with Champagne and cup cakes for Charlie’s 21^st Birthday!!

Charlie turns 21 !!! outside Jolly Harbour, Antigua

The next morning Josie Maria heads into Jolly Harbour Marina, after checking-in at customs, immigration and the Port authority.  We plan to stay in Antigua until John arrives on the 2^nd June.  Gordon, Charlie and Vicki spend a day driving around Antigua in a hire car,  with a surf board – looking at the sights and for surf.  We have a Sunday lunch at Cloggy’s by Antigua Yacht club – which was very nice, if not expensive….

The best surf beach is covered in Sargasso weed and is very VERY smelly!!  We also have a peek at the North South Head Marina and boatyard.  Vicki spots “Skook” a yacht that joined the ARC+ boats on the second leg from Mindello to St Lucia.  On the 2^nd June Vicki picks John up from the airport, all dressed in jeans, while Gordon and Charlie ensure we have all the provisions we need!!  John wishes he was in shorts – its hot and sunny!!

On the 3^rd June we leave for St John’s Dominica, Gordon checked us out of Antigua on the 2^nd – shortly after John’s arrival.  The wind heads around to the SSW so instead of resting overnight in an anchorage off Guadoloupe, we head straight for Dominica, arriving around 2130 – well after the sun has set.  Without the radar working effectively we have the moon (a nice full bright one!), and a bright torch to guide us in.  

John sailing from Antigua to Dominica

Passing Guadaloupe on the way to Dominica

Gordon and Charlie

Guadaloupe

We find a place to anchor and are met by Lawrence of Arabia Yachting Services who are happy to organize some island tours for us.  We organize a trip up the Indian river , where scenes of the Pirates in the Caribbean movie was filmed, with fake skeletons hanging from trees left by a Russian film maker shooting another film.  

Eric Spaghetti, our guide manages to lose an oar and hurt his hand –so John, Charlie and I have a Rum and Coconut milk cocktail at the bar at the end of the river and we buy Eric a much needed drink too!  Titus then meets us and takes us on an Eco walk – we see such a wealth of produce and have a taste of a sample of it!  

John on the Indian River, on a boat which Eric Spaghetti is driving - Dominica

Scenery on the Indian River, Dominica

 Vicki on the Indian River, where Voodo Queen Calypso sequence was filmed- Dominica

End of the Indian River, Dominica

Vicki, Charlie and John - the bar at the end of the Indian River, Dominica

Vicki, John, Charlie & Titus (yellow sun shirt) our tour guide at the end of our Eco-tour, Dominica

On the following day Charlie, John and I head on an island tour, around the northern or top half of Dominica – Gordon stays on the Josie Maria to ensure her safety.  Dominica is beautiful – it is incredibly green and we visit two fresh water swimming holes and have a delicious lunch overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.  On the way back from the first water-hole we visit we meet a Rastafan, who points us out two Boa constrictors in thick vegetation by the side of the road.

View of the Atlantic from the north west of Dominica

Charlie on the way to Emerald Pool,  Dominica,

John and Vicki on the same walk

We leave Dominica for St Lucia on the 6^th June – arriving at 1830.  We left Martinique astern at 1130 and saw Dolphins just after midday.  A small craft had gone missing the previous day between Martinque and St Lucia with 4 persons onboard – so we kept a sharp look-out for any sign of them.  We saw nothing, except a submerged blue cushion – which could have flown off any boat!!  The sea state was 1 to 2 m and the trip was very bouncy and rolly.  We anchor out in Rodney Bay and as we are doing so it becomes clear that there is something amiss with our bow-thruster.  In the morning Charlie dives over the side and shows us all the pictures he has taken – Josie Maria has lost all the propellers on the Port-side of our bowthruster – it is believed that it ingested a coconut….(another thing to put on that list!!).

On the 7^th June we head into Rodney Bay Marina and tie up to a sturdy concrete dock.  We then start waiting for a good weather window to head to Trinidad…. It is the 13^th June today and we are still waiting!!

The tropical waves – these bands of low pressure and clouds that cross the Atlantic from Africa, build and then dissipate (which is good!) – but until they do dissipate they could turn into a tropical depression which basically means it could turn into a hurricane. The issue with this is that if we go, and it turns nasty, we can't outrun it. So we continue to wait...

Hurricane Carlos and a new low in the Caribbean basin - glad we are not there !

The blue dot is Saint Lucia, and the two bands of infrared activity are the tropical waves which start in Africa.

St Lucia is a good place to be held up in, with lots of shops, cinema’s and significant historical and geological sites.  John and Vicki do a day trip to Martinique (Charlie and Gordon require Schengen Visa’s), we all do an island tour where we visit the walk-in Volcano at Soufriere, see the Botanical Gardens and have lunch in a local restaurant right outside that concrete jetty Josie Maria hit in 2013 when refueling!! 

Traffic in Martinique. Not all islands look like paradise.

The Castries, Saint Lucia

In Soufriere, Saint Lucia

Vicki, John, Charlie, Gordon at Soufriere, Saint Lucia - the walk-in volcano and it smelled horrible

Bubbling hot pools of mud - Soufriere's Volcano, Saint Lucia

View of the Pitons from the restaurant in Soufriere, Saint Lucia

Charlie and Gordon at lunch in a local restaurant, Soufriere, Saint Lucia

Vicki by the infamous concrete dock in Soufriere, Saint Lucia - the one we hit last year.

Carlie at the Botanical Gardens, Soufriere, Saint Lucia

Red Birds of Paradise

We use the rest of our time in St Lucia to re provision, eat out, go to the cinema and Vicki and John find the time to catch up on Josie Maria’s Blog!! One of our fav old time movies if you want to see what life could be like :) is the comedy movie "Captain Ron" with Kurt Russell and Martin Short 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOPl21EVhaU

In Saint Lucia, ready to depart for Trinidad