Overnight to St. Martin

12.09.12

Tried to capture the old lava flows of Montserrat but they don't show up so well

We arrived in Dahaies, checked the weather, checked out of Guadalupe, picked up a baguette and decided to leave for St. Martin in at sunup the next morning. 

The bottom of the anchorage in Dehaies is grassy – the only condition that our normally reliable Bruce anchor does not like.  Dave had stayed aboard WW while I went in with the others to check out.  As soon as I returned to the boat, I noticed that we were closer to the catamaran to port.  Sure enough, we’d slid and the catamaran’s German couple was none too happy.   “You are too close to our boat!” shouted the man.  We waved and said we’d move.  When we pulled anchor, sure enough, it came with a wad of sea grass.  We tried another spot on the edge of the anchorage not so far from many small mooring floats and the rocky coast, which was not exactly relaxing.  We ate lunch and watched.  Sure enough, we’d slid again, over the closest mooring and closer to the crashing waves on shore.  Dave and I were at this point arguing about where to go.  Finally we found a spot and put down our pointy plow anchor.  Surely it would stick.  It did not.  This was disturbing because if the plow did not work, what next?  We tried it again, and this time it worked.  The plow has twenty feet of chain and the rest is rope rode.  This means that we pull up this anchor by hand.  One of us can do it alone up to a certain point, but the last 30 feet or so require both of us to be on deck to haul it up together, a tricky feat when the wind and waves are strong.  By the time we were finally settled, the afternoon had passed and we were exhausted and grumpy, but at least we were sure the anchor was sticking. 

We got ready for an early morning departure and I got on the internet to update the blog and check email.  Five A.M.. came pretty early but we made final preparations and pulled up the anchor by 6:30.  We had a good, though a bit rough, sail on the windward sides of the islands - Montserrat, Nevis and St. Kitts - averaging  a speedy 7.7 knots.  We only turned on the motor for an hour to charge batteries and run the fridge.  It was tough to steer because the winds were around 20, so we reefed.  That helped.  Later, it was still tough, so we reefed again, which was OK and we hoped would be fine for the night.  Still it became harder to steer.  Though we could put in a third reef, we hadn’t practiced with the snap-on blocks, so Dave suggested dropping the main and letting our “handkerchief” jib fly alone.  We tried it and it worked beautifully.  The steering was much improved and we were still doing a respectable 5.5 to 6 knots.  Around 5:00 a.m., We arrived in St. Martin while it was still dark, but easily found a place to anchor among the megayachts outside the Dutch bridge.  (The island of St. Martin is both Dutch and French.)

We slept for three hours, passed under the Dutch bridge and looked and looked for a sandy spot to anchor, but it was difficult to see because the sun was low.  We tried an open spot, dropped the Bruce and waited.  By the time I got back from checking in with the others, Dave had already had to re-anchor.  This time I insisted in finding a sandy spot, which we did and now, it seems we are holding.  To see if you are staying put or dragging anchor, you can watch take a visual bearing on something ashore.  Thanks to technology, you can also leave your GPS on and check your track.  It should, over time, make a dark arched track from the normal to and fro swing on the anchor.  If you see a sort of zig zag, that’s bad – you are dragging.  If you see the “smile” that gets darker and darker, it means you are happily set – a reassuring feeling. 

 

Now it's Tuesday, 12/11, and we are still staying put.  After returning from checking in, I ate lunch, lay down for a nap around 2:00 p.m. and did not arise until 5:00 a.m. the following morn.  The overnight sails take a lot out of you.  We and now glad that we made the push as the wind and seas have gotten quite strong, but here in the Marigot Lagoon, we are snug.  Today we've had gusts up to 30 knots.  Things should settle down by Friday.  We're taking care of laundry, cleaning up the boat, and small projects. 

 

We are flying home to California next week for the holidays, but most importantly for the wedding of Dave's daughter.  Jessica and Nick will marry on December 29 in Marin County.  We're very excited and happy for them.  We wish we could visit everyone, but will mostly be spending time with our family.  Do please give us a call 707 321-6137 between 12/20 and 1/1, so at least we can chat if we don't get to visit.