Heading North

Jon and Tuuli Enjoying a Smooth Sail

When we returned to Aldebaran for this season of sailing we knew we wanted to head north, we just didn't think it would be during the first week of February!  The high winds and seas from the northeast, which are typical this time of year, were taking a break and our go-to weather guy, Chris Parker, said we could get going!  For the first time since we started this adventure, we had a destination deadline. OMG!  We weren't sure we could handle it! We wanted to make it to St. Maarten by March 15, and  we figured if the weather held we would be able to enjoy all the islands as we sailed north.

As we left Grenada heading for Sandy Island, Carriacou it was a less-than-ideal sail.  We were faced with 25+ knots of wind and 10-12 foot seas on the nose.  Blah!  Nearly every wave broke over the bow and over the bimini, drenching us every inch of the way.  We were definitely not having fun yet! 

Sandy Island

When we finally approached Sandy Island, it was a great sight to see!  We picked up a mooring ball, enjoyed a beautiful sunset and rested up for our trip up to Bequia in the morning.

Sunset at Sandy Island

The sail to Bequia was just more of the same as the day before.  It was a long, wet day.  We passed a lot of boats going south (smart) and only saw a few going north with us (not-so-smart).  It was great to arrive in Bequia!  We hoped for a weather report that allowed us to stay for awhile.  We have great memories of Bequia and all of the great sea glass we collected there last year.  However, the weather window was shortened so we had to keep going.  It was clear now that enjoying all of the islands would not be possible and that we would have to yellow-flag it (not check in with customs) at most islands since we would arrive late and leave early the next morning.

Tuuli pooped after a long day of sailing

We left Bequia before sunrise for the long sail to St. Lucia, bypassing St. Vincent.  It was an absolute gorgeous morning and a beautiful sail all day.  The day was full of blessings....we got to see the sun rise AND the sun set, and witness Tuuli jumping up out of a sound sleep to alert us to dolphins long before they were visible to us!!  Amazing.  We anchored at Marigot Bay in St. Lucia.  It is the first time we had been to this bay.  Such a beautiful setting.  We were happy to see a boat boy approaching with bananas!  Of course we had to buy a bunch from him....yummmm.  Bananas are so much better in the Caribbean!

Sunrise Leaving Bequia

Sunset at Marigot, St. Lucia

Marigot Anchorage

   

The next day was a short sail up to Martinique.  Once we were anchored in Le Marin we knew we would be able to stay for a few days since there was a tropical wave approaching.  Lots of rain, and lots of relaxing and reading was in store for us. Woo Hoo!  It was good to have a few days to read, go to the market at Le Marin, take Tuuli swimming in St. Anne, and make sushi for Valentine's Day.  It was a good time! 



Tuuli getting ready for a swim in her little life jacket

After our few days of relaxation in Le Marin, our sail north continued.  We sailed up the island of Martinique and anchored at St. Pierre before leaving early for Dominica the next morning.  We like St. Pierre in spite of the fact that every boat anchored there must crowd their way onto a small shelf of sand before it drops to 80 meters.  It was quite a show as all of us scrambled to get set before night fall!  This anchorage is in such a beautiful setting.......below the volcanic mountain, amongst the local fishermen, and in view of spectacular sunsets.

Sunset at St. Pierre

Our next stop was Dominica.  We arrived just as the sun was setting so the onslaught of boat boys was minimal - only two!  It was nice to visit with Albert, though.  He is one of the original boat boys and a main force in PAYS, the security group that patrols the anchorage.  Once he knew we were leaving at day break and would not be using his services to take a river tour or island tour, he wished us a great time and moved on.  We have great memories of the fun time we had in Dominica with our friends from Emerald Seas, Jade, and Far Star the last time we visited.

Day break arrived and off we went to Deshais, Guadaloupe.  We were one of only a few boats still moving north.  We got the feeling that all those going south or staying put were having much more fun than us.  We are definitely cruisers more than we are sailors.  We like to visit the islands and explore new places!!

The town of Deshais, Guadaloupe

Deshais is such a cool little town.  We loved it there the last time we visited.  We have great memories of visiting the Botanical Garden and walking around the town.  This time we arrived at sunset and just had time to enjoy the town from the anchorage a bit before dark.  When morning came we were really dragging our feet.  We were planning on sailing north to Antigua next, resting for a few hours, then heading to St. Maarten from there.  We only had two more days of settled weather so we had to keep going.  The only problem now was that there was NO wind. 

We started out anyway and as we cleared Guadaloupe we looked at Montserrat in the distance and decided to head that way (northwest) instead of north to Antigua.  We had a rolly time motoring until the wind picked up just before we reached Montserrat.  After that we enjoyed a nice sail in the lee of the island where we got a good view of the volcano smoking and the town that had been wiped out from the volcano erupting in the 90's. 

A view of the lava flow areas on Montserrat

Since we decided to sail this direction we planned a stop in Nevis.  We knew there were huge mooring balls in a wide open anchorage so we were counting on being able to pick one up in the dark.  We arrived there about 9:00 PM and inched our way in the dark towards where we thought the mooring balls were.  As we got closer a spot light appeared from another sailboat.  A person from that boat was shining the light right on a mooring ball.  Awesome!  We got the mooring line and settled in for a great night sleep.

The next morning was our last good day of sailing weather and we started out early for St. Maarten.  Our plan was to motor in the lee of St. Kitts and then sail between St. Kitts and Statia, then on to St. Maarten, arriving before sunset.  As we started out our engine started to falter.  Oh s**t!!!  We knew we were low on fuel in that tank so Jon went below to switch us over to the other tank.  Well, that lasted a few minutes before it started to falter again.....bad fuel :-(  Thank goodness for wind and spare fuel filters.  We were able to sail into St. Kitts as cruise ships were approaching and a container ship was bearing down on us....all while Jon was down below changing fuel filters. 

Once we arrived in St. Kitts and anchored near the marina, we put the motor on the dinghy and Jon took off to get some fuel.  Not so easy!  They don't sell fuel in this marina, so he had to haul the fuel jugs up to the road to find a taxi to take him to a gas station. The taxi driver took him to a gas station up on a hill instead of close by in town to sidetrack the morning rush hour and cruise ship traffic.   

Back at the boat, we emptied the jugs in the fuel tank and took off once again with our fingers crossed.  Of course, the engine started to falter as the filters clogged from the old fuel!  Here we go again....changing the fuel filters and bleeding the fuel line.  Poor Jon, he had the dirty work while Carol and Tuuli got to enjoy the beautiful sail in the lee of St. Kitts.  Finally!  It was done, and we were back in good order and on our way to St. Maarten.  As it turned out, this was the most beautiful day of sailing we had the entire time since leaving Grenada.  It was beautiful weather with 17 knots of wind and 5 foot seas.  We LOVED it!

Carol and Tuuli on the last day of sailing

The sun set as we were approaching St. Maarten.  Four cruise ships evenly spaced out were leaving Phillipsburg and boats were zipping around the island.  We were familiar with Simpson Bay since we had been there several times before but in the dark it was a different matter.  You cannot tell what anything is in the dark on the water!  We were approaching very slowly, discussing what we thought was in front of us when all of a sudden Carol commented on a chugging sound.  Then as a new set of green navigation lights whisked by in front of us, we were freaked out when we realized it was some sort of work or tug type boat moving very fast and very close to us!  With our knees shaking we focused on a catamaran anchored in the bay, moved up behind it and put our anchor down.  Whew!  We made it! 



Sunset on our Sail to Simpson Bay, St. Maarten



Our Return to Aldebaran

Tuuli's first dinghy ride!

This picture of Tuuli, our new little companion and first mate, just says it all....."Weeeee! This is what I've been waiting for!" We arrived back to Grenada on January 18 after a great day of travel. Tuuli was perfect on both of the flights to get here and then we had a warm and friendly welcome at the airport in Grenada. In spite of the more-than-tipsy agriculture agent, Tuuli was documented with ease and we were on our way with all our gear in the taxi to Cool Running Apartments where we stayed while getting Aldebaran ready to splash again.

Aldebaran did great during our absence, with just a light coating of mildew and some road and boat yard dirt on the deck. Everything else was great, and after cleaning and putting everything back together, we were back in the water again in 4 short days! It is so nice to be floating in calm Prickly Bay and getting reacquainted with friends from past seasons. (For those of you who are familiar with Prickly Bay, you read it right, it is CALM!! Go figure)

We will soon be heading north to St. Maarten when weather allows, but in the meantime we are doing little projects (Oh wait, Jon says the new Y valve he is putting in for the toilet right now isn't so little! Oops) It's not all about the projects, though. Last week we went to Dodgy Dock to learn how to make chicken curry and rotis while sipping rum punch...yummmmm...and we have been to our favorite sea glass beach a few times to search for some new treasures. The beach adventures are so fun with little Tuuli. She loves to lie down on the wet sand to cool off after playing, and every once in a while she catches a glimpse of a crab skittering across the sand into a hole. She still has no clue what it is!

Yesterday Tuuli had her first swimming adventure in the bay at Grand Anse. We put her tiny pink Hawaiian print life jacket on and walked out into the surf. It took her a minute to get her little feet going, but soon she was swimming back and forth between us and doing great! I wouldn't say she loves it yet, though! She was MUCH more excited to be back on the beach. We are amazed at how easily Tuuli has taken to life on the boat and in the tropics. Everything has been effortless for her (even using the astro turf potty mat) and she has taken an immediate liking to mangoes, bananas, and papayas. She makes so many friends on the island that even the other day the fruit and veggie guy, Anslem, gave her her very own mango. Way to go Tuuli!!!!