Honey Pond

Our stay in the dutch part of St. Martin wasn't very long. A couple of days in Philipsburg watching the cruise ship crowd, and then a day in Honey Harbour - or make that Oyster Pond. Anybody who has ever gone to Canada may know Honey Harbour. It's right off one of the tributaries to one of the Great Lakes, Georgian Bay.

We did a trip to Canada a while back and we once visited this place and while the scenery must have been wonderful, a room in the only hotel was 300 US$ a night. A bit steep, certainly for our taste. Never mind it had a private bubble pool. I then delivered my since famous line "All right, I'll go get my wife in the car". After which I hopped into our rental car, drove off swiftly and we checked into the cheap motel we'd seen on the highway 15 miles back. We've never seen Honey Harbour in daylight.

This time round, we went to the marina office only to be told the private mooring we were on was 46 US$, actually exactly the same amount as we'd be charged berthed in the marina. But if we came into the marina, we might get a discount.

So we slipped the rope of that mooring and tucked into the farthest corner of the pond, after first snorkeling to look for hidden dangers on the bottom.

We met a Canadian guy later that night whilst having a drink in the bar who we told we were anchored. He was incredulous, only believing we'd actually anchored there after I also told him we'd already crossed an ocean. He'd chartered from there and hit bottom three times while getting into the marina. He wasn't paying the berthing fees, and he was impressed we'd gotten away with it.



We used to refer to ridiculously priced accomodation as "Honey Harbour" since our trip to Canada. Now, we have renewed that habit to outrageously priced marinas and half the time refer to Oyster Pond as... Honey Harbour.

Alternative destinations

First I'd planned to visit Saba to dive there. Then the wind was consistently from the North East which made mooring in Saba pretty horrible so we changed plans and aimed for St. Barths instead. When we left on Saturday morning, the wind didn't do much, but later rose and changed to the North, and in the afternoon veered North East. But by then, our target was too far to windward, so we opted for Statia instead.

All of these are pretty close together, so no trouble getting from one to the next. Our next hop was meant to be Oyster Pond in St. Martin, but the North Easterly wind combined with the late hour made us go into Great Bay on St. Martin. Just six Miles closer, but 4 Miles more Westward. It took us 3 days of waiting until the wind had changed enough to finally make it into Oyster Pond.

The upshot of all this is of course the continuous changing of cruising plans and destinations as we go along. We're having a lot of fun exploring different options and I've long started putting in alternate routes into our navigational software so we're never without an alternative.

But tomorrow we're headed for Anguilla, and since we're picking up my brother in law, we'll make that. At least that's our aim and weather permitting, it doens't look impossible. But we have already had to put people on a ferry so as not to rush too much, so our cruising lifestyle remains leisurely. No point getting stressed with deadlines or having to beat to windward if the wind isn't favorable. There's always ferries, planes and cars to get others to come to us.

But we try. It's just a far cry from my trip to Portugal in 2006, when we ended up taking the rough route to meet folks. But I believed then, and do still, there is always an alternative destination on the horizon. It should be every cruiser's motto.

St. Kitts cruise ship Mecca

We didn't spend enough time in Nevis. It's a shame, but when we tried to get to the most Northerly bay, the wind made it impossible to get there. So we sailed immediately to St. Kitts, across the Narrows.



The stay in St. Kitts was nice, very relaxing and calm. We stayed a couple of days in Whitehouse Bay, where we met Sam and Alex and got together for a drink and some snacks. We snorkeled the bay to see some old wrecks and saw some old cannons lying on the sea bed right below Victor Too, and a Manta Ray swimming next to one of them.



In the capital Basseterre we got into the marina for water and fuel and to get six weeks of laundry done. The laundry cost was a bit of a shock and very badly folded on top of that, the price of water was a joke (15 US$) and the fuel never materialized. But apart from that, it was a nice marina and a pleasant town. But it also shows that if you put enough cruise ships in a port, prices become a joke while service not necessarily benefits. We had a similar experience with customs and immigration officers, which we wouldn't rate as high as our sacred guide (Doyle's) does. Perhaps bad luck, but perhaps they just don't need yachts that much anymore with up to 5 cruise ships in port at the same time.

Anyway, the people in town were very friendly and helpful, as everywhere we've been. We didn't go see a lot, being victims of the inflated prices (64 US$ per person for a train ride), but I did two dives at very good sites in excellent visibility.

I prefer smaller islands to bigger ones, but with too many cruise ship passengers in town, sometimes the larger islands with more remote bays provide more alternatives to escape the crowd. So far, we've had plenty of everything not to decide either way. We still have a couple of islands to go, each different. Plenty of opportunities along the way!

Azores in sight - but where's my crew?

The return crossing is drawing nearer, and so far we are three crew strong. When I had to disappoint a lot of people on the crossing to Grenada, the trip to the Azores is drawing much less positive response. Not that I don't get inquiries, but a lot of people are perhaps looking for something else.

By now, I've learned never to count on anyone, so I always try to get some back-ups. This time, however, just getting 4 crew is hard work. I've had to answer dozens of text messages - all by the same person - just to arrange a Skype-session only to hear he wouldn't be joining us. In the end, I may be cheaper off just hiring paid crew. But I'm confident we'll get enough crew for the crossing by the time we reach the BVI.

After all, who wouldn't want to sail to the Azores? Those mystical islands in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean have always lured me and many other sailors. It's certainly a special target of this trip and we've got some good friends coming over once we're there.

So getting to the Azores may be the end of the Caribbean part of the journey, it's also a long cherished dream coming true. I'm answering about 2 e-mails a week now inquiring into the crossing, but so far only one positive reply and one crew are certain. And that's if all goes well.

Antigua

Leaving Guadeloupe was harder than getting there. We left for Antigua on Monday morning. The wind decided otherwise though, and we had to turn back or spend an uncomfortable night in Montserrat.

So after two hours we were back in Deshaies for another attempt the next morning. This time, the wind was more favorable, although it turned again in the afternoon and the last hour was again spent motoring.

But we got to English Harbour before nightfall and anchored in the mangroves. Next day was spent clearing in, shopping, and having a nice time in Falmouth Harbour in the next bay.



The third day in Antigua we left for Jolly harbour after an excellent lunch in Johnny Coconat's bar. The Island atmosphere was getting a firm grip on us again, so we stayed for two nights with a shopping day in between in the Epicurean super market. The name says it all, no need to elaborate on the fine foods we bought.



Another day and an hour in the pouring rain to reach Deep Bay with our anchor dropping just as the rain stopped. Well, no good continuing now, there's some good snorkeling on the wreck of the Andes freighter.



Then onwards, to Boon Channel and the North East. A maze of reefs, islands and perfect anchorages. Three days and we're not thinking of leaving, although...



The next day we're still anchored at Redhead Island where a large colony of pelicans is nesting and a lot of young are making a racket every morning. We already spotted a large Sting Ray while snorkeling the reefs on the East side of Redhead island, and the numbers of lobsters, lambi shells and coral fish are staggering.



Finally, we're starting to feel there is more to explore and we head for Parham harbour to clear out. A last night at Long Island and perhaps tomorrow we'll head for St. Kitts and Nevis. But who knows what tomorrow brings?