Spring Cleaning (in Autumn)

Pitons, St Lucia in the Caribbean

Hope you all like the new look design for WJ3's old (2008 to 2010) posts.  We had to change so that you could have access to these all important archives, which will save a lot of time when navigating around the blog. (Hopefully all fixed for the better. Ed) 

This blog covers our Caribbean & USA voyages as follows:

2008:  Caribbean - British Virgins, Leeward then Windward Islands down to Trinidad

2009:  Caribbean to USA- Trinidad, Windwards, Leewards,  Turks Caicos, Bahamas then up the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) to Chesapeake Bay

2010:  East Coast USA - Chesapeake Bay, Lower Bay (New York) to Long Island Sound, Buzzards Bay & Cape Cod, Maine & New England coasts,  Landlubbers in New York & Washington, then back to Chesapeake Bay.

Also try our Tracker (an interactive map) to zoom in & out with amazing clarity on all of our anchorages etc.  Of course if you're really "interested" our grid references/place names are also included.   Don't forget WJ3's latest site for adventures getting to and about in Europe - starting from 2011.

Going like Wildfire....

And Finally, Sweet Bequia: 27 Aug 08

The Madonna's

Our early morning cruise took us south past The Pitons, which we promptly christened “the Madonna’s”.   Not due to our religious education in St Martin you understand but after the songstress with the pointy black brassiere. Those of you old enough may remember her and get the joke! The whole area of The Pitons is a marine reserve and it looked well cared for, despite the whole island being ringed, even well out to sea, by a floating field of old coconuts (forgivable) and soft drink bottles (definitely not forgivable, Mr Coca Cola).

Lone Guide

Our way out of St Lucia was guided for us by a lone, battle scarred dolphin. He stayed long enough in the calm waters for me to get a nice picture (that’s Big Bertha, our huuuuge but reliable anchor - oh so picture-worthy!).

St Vincent coastline

In dead calm, we motored past St Vincent, with its wild, rugged landscape and black sandy beaches fringed by coconut palms. Hardly surprisingly, Wallilabou Bay was used as one of the sets for “Pirates of the Caribbean”. Someone, inspired perhaps by these possibilities, had in June, attacked & robbed a cruising/charter yacht on the north of the island. Nasty business. Interestingly, the island’s only obvious, well used anchorage was a protected marina. Such a shame for local business. Especially when so much of the Caribbean relies on tourism for income. 

Rain over St Vincent

Off St Vincent we hit increasingly heavy rain squalls. It was during one of these unpleasant times that finally….the zzziiiiiing of the rod! We had hooked something big!! Before we could even release the rod from its holder, the game was all over! The line had run off the reel… Say no more! 

The Cap’n said it was the first time he had heard the Galley Slave swear…true dinks!! Well, we had been trawling that lure over 5 long days! So somewhere in the sapphire blue waters of the Caribbean is a fish with a big headache, a mouthful of plastic bait and trailing 300 feet of hi-vis green, nylon line.

Then.  The heavens opened up.  BW shares this photo from the comfort of down below.  Why keep a dog and bark as they say....

Rain Rain Go Away

We arrived in Bequia at 6pm in fading light, anchoring off Tony Gibbons Beach in water so clear we could see the bottom (20ft down) even then. For the first time, Cap’n Spring-loaded could easily see the anchor and chain. For the first time, he did not have to dive down to check on it! We could, we hoped, finally begin cruising for pleasure….

From:  Marigot Bay, St Lucia  Lat/Long: 13 58N  61 02W  Date/Time: 27/8/08: 0620

To:  Bequia, Grenadines  Lat/Long: 13 00N  61 15W  Date/Time: 27/8/08: 1730
Time Taken: 60nm (13hrs)  Distance (this year): 608nm (131hrs)
Distance Total (since 2008): 608nm  (131hrs)   Fastest Speed: 5.3kts motoring
Weather: Winds calm; small swell hardly noticeable; rain squalls

Anyone paying attention to my navigation will notice that a. we have been dropping degrees like wildfire (now at 13N…the safety hurricane free limit is now 11 – so not too far to go!) and b. that we are riding in a west sweeping arc as we head towards the equator and the coast of South America.  Following in the footsteps of Columbus in the 1500’s.

St Lucia: Party Bananas

Bananas Anyone?: 25-26 Aug 08

Marigot Bay St Lucia

Again we motored out early in the calm of the morning through a barrage of fishing traps to the end of the island and past the rather scenic Diamond Rock, said to have once been dressed as a galleon by the creative Brits to keep Napoleon’s fleet at bay. (Interestingly, Empress Josephine grew up in Martinique.) Ever ready to take what comes, we made it half way across the channel before the winds died plunging us into a boiling mess.

Whatever happened to those reliable, steady trade winds??? We battled on for a while in a lumpy, unpleasant cross-swell & current…up on a crest (one two) roll to the left (three four) roll to the right (five six) up on a crest (seven eight)…smaaaash! ssshhuuudder… then repeat at least a 10,000 times more…..This was with the motor going too! Our destination had been to Soufriere & a marine park at the base of the Pitons; both on the southern end of St Lucia. Down to our last ¼ tank of fuel, Cap’n Migraine demanded sails up. No sooner up than down they came again. And into Marigot Bay we headed – much closer, a big marina (with fuel facilities) and protection from these beastly southerlies.

Plans for Dangar?

We were warmly greeted by a toothless rasta in a half-inflated dingy. “Wonta moorin’, mon? Bes in deh bay; cleeen water, jus off deh beach.”   Mmmm, dubious... This mooring on offer, special price to us of $25US, was a simple fender hanging way too close to the narrow channel and a large green buoy.   “Where you from?  Ostrailya?   I bin der.   Kins Cross, Russcutter Bay. Niiiiice place.” Yackity yackity yak! We chose another more secure mooring (no hard feelin’s, mon) and fortunately before money changed hands, the mooring mafia arrived. $15 a night and a receipt! We still checked with the marina office…..

Whilst we were in vulnerable “arrival shock”, the banana boys arrived too - standing on old surfboards and paddling with a single oar. Their cargo of over-ripe bananas and a few mangos or limes was peddled off at rather inflated prices, but….you know, in the heat of the moment! So it was we acquired a huge bunch of bananas, a couple of over-ripe mangos and a few laughs. Later, another came by wanting to trade limes for rice and tinned fish (shades of New Guinea?). Finally a chance to get rid of some of Cap’n Speedo’s dreaded corned beef supplies…yes!!

Faithful swimming Scooby Doo

That night, after the previous night's tuna disaster, the crew decided to eat out. Off we went, still groggy from the sail, paddling in Bruce (no motor on yet) to a recommended restaurant, the Rainforest Hideaway, one of a number that line the mangroves within the inner bay. Well it turned out to be exclusive, full of exclusive people from the exclusive resorts that also lined the exclusive bay…too bad, fish out of water & all that! Too late to change, so in we grotty ozzie yotties went. The food was divine; the best we’d eaten since leaving home (other than my cooking, that is!!) and the service very attentive. And luckily we could pay with credit card (thank heavens for plastic!).

Greeting new arrivals

We decided to stay a second night, re-fuel, re-water, re-provision and just plain re-lax, so checked in with customs to legalise our stay. Marigot Bay is certainly picturesque and we couldn’t have picked a better hide-away for our lay-over. After a busy day restocking (& turning down offers of more bananas) we took sundowners at a local bar (Mygo’s) and then went for hamburgers to the marina’s Hurricane Hole café. Yes, another resort surrounded by motor yachts that even Packers’ would approve of! One was 4 storeys above the water (& bigger than our house). Of course, the occupants weren’t on board; they’d all taken rooms at the resort….as you do! (I've included a few links to web sites so that you can compare my plain-jane photos with those tempting marketing ones!!)


From:  Anse Mitan, Martinique  Lat/Long: 14 34N  61 03W  Date/Time: 25/8/08: 0830

To:  Marigot Bay, St Lucia  Lat/Long: 13 58N  61 02W  Date/Time: 25/8/08: 1715
Time Taken: 40nm (9hrs)  Distance (this year): 548nm (118hrs)
Distance Total (since 2008): 548nm  (118hrs)   Fastest Speed: 5.5kts **
Weather: Winds died to SW 1-2kts; 2-4ft cross swell setting SE vs NE;
(**Motored most of the way 5.3-5.5kts; sailing backwards a distinct possibility!)