20/12/2010
With “perkins” sporting a new water pump, we were now able to think about our trip north to St Martin, where we had arranged to meet Tom, Johness, Alex and Dom for Christmas. Only 400 odd miles….. a doddle! Well, I suppose it could have been, if we had decided to do it all as one passage …. 3or 4 days max, leaving two weeks to spare and get to know St Martin.
We decided instead, to island hop, and stop over at all the places we wished to see, so that we would have a better idea about where we would like to spend more time on the return trip. Suddenly, it becomes a very different exercise, with all the checking in and out, the customs hours, the queues…. As well as the socialising en route!
With “perkins” sporting a new water pump, we were now able to think about our trip north to St Martin, where we had arranged to meet Tom, Johness, Alex and Dom for Christmas. Only 400 odd miles….. a doddle! Well, I suppose it could have been, if we had decided to do it all as one passage …. 3or 4 days max, leaving two weeks to spare and get to know St Martin.
We decided instead, to island hop, and stop over at all the places we wished to see, so that we would have a better idea about where we would like to spend more time on the return trip. Suddenly, it becomes a very different exercise, with all the checking in and out, the customs hours, the queues…. As well as the socialising en route!
We left St Georges (Grenada) and beat our way up to Hillsborough in Carriacou, where we had to check out of Grenada. We then sailed round to Chatham Bay on Union Island, where we spent the night. An early start allowed us to do the 30 mile beat to Bequia, where we checked into St Vincent, and spent a great couple of days. Imagine our surprise to see another Shearwater, sporting an SA crew flag. It was Magnus Murphy and family, who now live in Canada,on “Losloper” , previously “Ithaka”, and before that, “Slivermoon” . Magnus started the Shearwater Owners Face book website a few months back, and was moved to feature “Sheer Tenacity” once again on this medium after our Bequia meeting!
Early on the 11th, we headed off to St Lucia, detouring around St Vincent, once again on a breezy fetch, where we anchored under the famous “Pitons”, ( EC $ 40 for a mooring buoy) where we checked in again. 
The next day we motored up the lee of the island to Rodney Bay, where we anchored. While there we watched about 15 of the ARC boats finish their crossing from the Canaries, bringing up to about 120 of the over 200 boats taking part in this years ARC….. All of the yachts to have arrived so far make Sheer Tenacity look like a little day sailor! We liked Rodney Bay, and St Lucia in general, and look forward to spending a lot more time there.
We sailed over to Martinique on the 14th, and anchored at Anse Mitan, just outside Forte France. It struck us as being rather jaded and tired. Unlike the crime and grime of some of the Caribbean, the empty hotels, and half built and abandoned timeshare resorts, reflected a more global financial picture. The French shops, however, were certainly a pleasure, albeit rather expensive. Even the little ‘8 au Huit” supermarket up in St Pierre was fabulously stocked with treats and cordon bleu goodies!
We sailed over to Martinique on the 14th, and anchored at Anse Mitan, just outside Forte France. It struck us as being rather jaded and tired. Unlike the crime and grime of some of the Caribbean, the empty hotels, and half built and abandoned timeshare resorts, reflected a more global financial picture. The French shops, however, were certainly a pleasure, albeit rather expensive. Even the little ‘8 au Huit” supermarket up in St Pierre was fabulously stocked with treats and cordon bleu goodies!
Another 60 mile beat up to Portsmouth in Dominica, where we were approached miles out by “boat boys”, who now label themselves “boat services”. In fact, after anchoring, we welcomed the offer of their service to take us, in their boat, down to the customs office, and back. The sea was pretty wild, and there was no way we could have launched our dinghy and safely tied it up on the dock landing for the duration of our checking in process! EC $ 20 well spent!
During this leg, however our new Raymarine auto pilot died, so once again we had to pull out our trusty little “Fredlet”, the rubber band driven autohelm 3000, which served us so well from French Guyana to Trinidad. On closer inspection, it transpired that the failure was in fact NOT the Raymarine bits, but the hydrolic ram, which was the last remaining component from the B & G setup. I had this unit serviced and rebuilt, with new brushes and seals by a specialist in Trinidad. I had been concerned about the workmanship at the time, because when it was eventually returned to me, the only apparent sign that it had been worked on, was a half empty fluid reservoir, and a cursory wave of black spray paint! (When stripped in Sint Maarten, the B & G specialist confirmed that the unit had never been opened, let alone fitted with new brushes and seals ! I had paid US$200 for a spray paint con job!)
During this leg, however our new Raymarine auto pilot died, so once again we had to pull out our trusty little “Fredlet”, the rubber band driven autohelm 3000, which served us so well from French Guyana to Trinidad. On closer inspection, it transpired that the failure was in fact NOT the Raymarine bits, but the hydrolic ram, which was the last remaining component from the B & G setup. I had this unit serviced and rebuilt, with new brushes and seals by a specialist in Trinidad. I had been concerned about the workmanship at the time, because when it was eventually returned to me, the only apparent sign that it had been worked on, was a half empty fluid reservoir, and a cursory wave of black spray paint! (When stripped in Sint Maarten, the B & G specialist confirmed that the unit had never been opened, let alone fitted with new brushes and seals ! I had paid US$200 for a spray paint con job!)
The next day saw us in another boisterous beat
up to the delightful “Saints”, (to which we will definitely return.) They are a quaint, very French little group of islands, 5 nm south of Guadeloupe, which was our next stopover, Deshaies, on the top NW wingtip of this butterfly shaped island, will also see us again. We liked the look of this town and anchorage and the surrounding wildlife attractions.
Our next leg is 50 odd miles to Antigua, past the volcanic Montserrat, and thankfully is also the leg, where our point of sail eases from a beat to a reach, in these fresh NE trades.
Our next leg is 50 odd miles to Antigua, past the volcanic Montserrat, and thankfully is also the leg, where our point of sail eases from a beat to a reach, in these fresh NE trades.
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