After enjoying St. Croix and Christiansted for several days, we sailed back toward the Windward and Leeward islands. Our first planned stop was Buck Island, a marine national park off of Saint Croix. It was a lovely island with pristine white beaches, and a dedicated snorkeling area. There were lots of buoys to tie up to, and informational plaques underwater informing on the corals and marine life. We saw huge elkhorn corals that according to the signs were around 8000 years old. It was a great stop and we are so glad we got the permits to visit.
After Buck Island, we decided to sail east and see how far we got. We were hoping for little wind as per the forecast, so we could motor east without having to fight the wind and waves. Initially, it was excellent sailing, and we were cautiously optimistic. Unfortunately, as the night arrived and we continued to sail, it became more of a headwind sail.
Our target was anything in the leeward islands, at first we thought Saint Martin but as we sailed we decided that we might as well try for Guadeloupe. After the first night we were a bit tired, but we decided to continue to motor towards Guadeloupe. At 2am (it’s always in the middle of the night) on the second night of sailing, just about 8 miles off of Nevis, we heard the horrible sound of fishing line twining itself around our propeller.
Immediately we shut off the motor, and then tried to see what we could do. The net that was stuck on the propeller held the boat fast, and we ended up with the stern against the wind and waves, hanging on the fishing line. Magnus considered going into the water with a flashlight to see if he could remove the line, but the boat was bucking on the waves and we felt that it was far too dangerous – he could be hit on the head with the boat.
So at around 3am we called out a Pan-Pan on our VHF, which is a non-emergency request for assistance. It was picked up by Fort-du-France, who relayed it to the St. Kitts and Nevis Coast Guard. At around 6am, they arrived to tow us in toward a spot where we could anchor and remove the fishing line from our propeller. It was a crew of 5 men, we discussed with them the possibility of diving on the prop out to sea, but again we all agreed that it was too dangerous with all the waves. So they gave us some tow lines and pulled us to Nevis, travelling up to 8 knots with Lulu!
Once we arrived in Nevis, Magnus was able to dive on the propeller and remove the fishing line. He didn’t see any visible damage; and after the coast guard left we did some more diving and visual inspection. Finally, we started the motor, and the propeller spun nicely. All was well with Lulu! First priority after that was a nap, and then we gathered our papers and headed to the customs office to clear into Nevis.
Nevis was an unexpected joy. We weren’t planning on stopping there, so we hadn’t done much reading up on the island. The coast guard deposited us on a buoy along a wide sandy beach, between a large resort and the town. Upon clearing in, we wandered through the town and looked into the shops we passed. As a first impression, Nevis impressed with the cleanliness of the town in general. People were friendly in passing, and the atmosphere was one of general well being. Toward sundown we went to a well known beach bar (“Sunshine’s”) and had a dinner with a beautiful view of the sunset. It was a wonderful day, relaxing after our adventure, and we are so thankful we were able to get a small taste of Nevis.
The next day we continued on toward Guadeloupe, and since we were a bit nervous about fishing gear, we decided to stop at Montserrat instead of sailing overnight to Guadeloupe. Montserrat had suffered greatly in recent years, both from hurricanes and volcanic eruptions. We didn’t clear in, just stayed at anchor in the harbor, as the primary activity on Montserrat for tourists is to visit the former capital which was buried under ash. Having been buried in volcanic ash once was enough, I can’t find joy in seeing it somewhere else. There were several boats in the harbor when we arrived but overnight there were only three of us in the main harbor and two catamarans around the corner.
Finally, we arrived in Guadeloupe at Deshaies on the northwestern corner of the island. We wanted to snorkel and explore more in Guadeloupe, and there was a lovely area off the corner of our anchorage. Another Swedish boat, Mamita, was there as well as another family boat; so we had a Swedish evening. During the course of the evening, Mamita came in contact with a Canadian boat that had lost their propeller on their way in to Deshaies, so we joined them in their effort to tow the Canadian boat in to the anchorage.
After Deshaies, we dropped down to the Jacques Cousteau marine national park at Pigeon Island. It was very busy on our sail up the coast, so we hadn’t stopped. This late in the season, it was almost empty of people, and we anchored in plenty of room and were the only dinghy tied to a mooring in the afternoon – there were a couple of canoes that had paddled out there but it was very open. What an experience it was, very shallow and coral and fish everywhere – like swimming in an aquarium. Both of us are glad that we were able to experience the snorkeling at Pigeon Island.
Next we sailed down to Iles des Saintes, one of our favorite stops from the trip north earlier in the year. It was just as lovely as we remembered, and we enjoyed meandering in the picturesque town. However, since hurricane season is fast approaching, we decided to leave Guadeloupe and continue southward, making another overnight trip to Martinique. Our intent is to be far enough south that we can avoid storms as necessary.
Martinique was another favorite place, and at our first stop in Saint Pierre, we returned to the best restaurant that we have visited on the trip – Le Moulin á Cannes at the Depaz distillery. It is only open for lunch, but well worth the visit! May is a month with a lot of holidays for the French islands, and we arrived in advance of the Emancipation day holiday. Celebrations in Saint Pierre included live music, a swimming competition, and an open air market.
Saint Pierre is somewhat exposed as a harbor, and it was a bit rolly, so we moved down to Le Marin to be able to pick up some needed items at the chandleries. Boats require constant maintenance, and the seals on our top hatches dry out in the constant exposure to strong sun, so we need to fix a leaky top hatch among other things. Not all islands have good chandleries, and Martinique and Saint Martin are known for having a broad selection available.
Le Marin is also a popular place to provision, so we stocked up on items that we know are very expensive as we continue south. With a full larder, we moved out to the anchorage in front of Saint Anne, where we can make water in our watermaker as needed. It may be the coming storm season, but we have had repeated squalls and thundershowers since coming back to the leeward and windward islands.
Our next goal is most likely Bequia in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, but you never know. Sometime in the coming days we will cast off, when we feel that the wind will be more with us than against. Stay tuned to see where we end up! Fair winds to you all from Saint Anne, Martinique on 26 May 2024 – our wedding anniversary and Mother’s day in Sweden.