We got the good weather news and crossed the lagoon to exit through the Dutch side bridge at its 4:30 pm opening. Roger had been afraid to cross the lagoon because the channel is not well marked, the electronic chart had no detail and the only paper chart we had was a "sketch" chart in the cruising guide. But having traversed the lagoon at least 10 times by dinghy and assisted by our hitchhiker, Manu, we made it across, took down the French flag, did not check in with Dutch customs, and were on our way.
On board for this 16 hour journey was the Captain, me, Manu (short for Emmanuel, who is 34 years of age and a native from France born in Lyon and lives in Montreal) and Michelle. (Michelle is 54 and hails from either Australia, Switzerland France or Canada. Her accent is a combination of all 4...she has a home in Switzerland and her passport is from Australia.) Oh...let me not forget our furry felines, Whitty and Alpha Girl. I may have mentioned earlier that my cautious kitty, Whitty, has become more adventurous. Pictured above is the boy nestling on top of the boom. Alas, I have now both to worry about! Also pictured above is the view from the top of Sugar Ridge, a mountain overlooking Jolly Harbour which is the port we pulled into at the completion of our passage. The final picture is of "TeePee", a 36' aluminum 1981 french built Via that is owned by our hitchhikers and took them across the Atlantic and is being prepared for the journey, ultimately, to Australia. TeePee has been "on the hard" for 7 weeks and in the bottom left hand corner of the picture is my back and Manu, who is completely covered in white overalls and mask for sanding the bottom. Roger tells me there is no dirtier job for the care and maintenance of a boat (except maybe the cleaning and repair of the head).
For the passage, we put up a double reefed main and the small jib and this was not enough sail because the wind was lighter than we had expected so we also used the motor the whole way. The course was about 145 magnetic and took us past Saba to starboard, St. Bart to port and then St. Eustatius, St. Kitt and Nevis to starboard before seeing Montserrat to starboard and Antigua to port. The whole trip was one long 16 hour close hauled port tack. We were slowed by big waves that came from our front. Ilene cooked chicken breasts with mandarin orange and pineapple sauce, green beans with lemon, and seasoned rice which we ate as darkness fell. Roger had the watch from 6 to 9 pm and again after 3 am, and our guests shared the six intervening hours. Ilene slept on the starboard side salon bench and Roger took the Pullman which needed the lee cloth. He was awakened with a yell when about a cup of salt water landed on him. We had made a mistake in not tightly and fully battening down the two top hatches. They were closed enough to keep out rain but not to keep out water when waves washed over us. The kitties did NOT enjoy the passage, with Alpha Girl suffering feline mal de mer. We arrived at the customs dock in Jolly at precisely 8:30 a.m. We could have easily avoided a 16 hour night passage if we had stopped at the various islands we'd passed en route but decided, for several reasons, to visit them on our northward journey.
We went to Jolly Harbour first because that's where the girls boat is and, knowing we would be spending most of our time in Falmouth Harbour (where most of the action on the island is located), we wanted to experience another harbour. It was lovely and quiet and peaceful. We checked in at customs and while Roger helped the girls move their belongings to their boat and dropped off the laundry (which was washed and dried for us at a cost of $55 US!!!!) I cleaned the boat. We went for a swim in a large pool at the Jolly Harbour Resort and had a drink with the girls. We then went back to ILENE, had dinner made from leftovers and then R & I had a great 9 hour sleep. We went for a hike in the AM and the picture above is a view from the top of the hill.
We pulled off the mooring at about 1 PM and had an amazing sail to Falmouth Harbour. I have never sailed in waves this big. Some of the rollers appeared to be more than 12 or 13 feet. I'm glad it only lasted several hours. We arrived at our anchorage in the harbor at about 4 PM and decided to stay on board. It is now Sunday, Jan. 9th at about 11:45 AM. We are sitting in the cafe on the deck of the Antigua Yacht Club and the weather is perfect. Tonight, and every Sunday night, there is a party on Shirley Heights, which we hear includes steel bands and BBQ. We plan on taking the 2 mile hike up the hill late this afternoon and will carry a flashlight for the return trip. Life is good!
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