St Kitts
Author: Shirlz
It was a short, fast sail across to St Kitts with the wind just forward of the beam and sparkling flat water. I anchored in Ballast Bay at the SE end of the island. A very good sheltered spot although there was not much happening ashore.
A marked channel led invitingly in to the salt pond hidden behind a rocky shoreline. I couldn`t resist rowing through to explore. But it was a bleak scene. Just a couple of dredgers and a work boat and nowhere to easily land the dinghy. The wind howled through the gap in the hills. Christophe Harbour, a big new developlment, is the work in progress and it looks as if it still has a few years to go before reality matches the glossy brochures.
Friday, 28 March 2014
Sparky fell overboard early in the morning while I was still dozing in my bunk.
The first I knew about it was when a sopping wet, squeaking fur ball jumped on top of me. He had cleverly scrambled back on board via the swimming ladder. I think he must have slipped off the Navik mounting as he was always fooling around on it but hasn`t been back since this little incident.
Saturday, 29 March 2014
I had thought of moving to Basseterre on Friday to clear out but the wind was really blowing hard so decided to stay put. It was impossible to row ashore so I messed around on the internet and did a watercolour sketch of Nevis Peak. Sparky has discovered his kibble and is drinking plenty of water at last.
Sunday, 30 March 2014
Sailed off the anchor at 9`ish forgetting to undo the lines holding the boom steady. A bit embarrassing. Luckily there was no one to see. I sorted that out and had a fast downwind run to Basseterre and anchored in the deep water harbour close to a small beach. It was rolly despite being recommended as being more comfortable than the anchorage outside the marina. I decided to wait till Monday before going ashore as there were a lot of kids playing on the beach and it would have been risky leaving the dinghy there.
Monday, 31 March 2014
Went ashore this morning. There was still quite a big swell running with a SE wind. Very uncomfortable on board. I had to get ashore to clear out, so put my hearing aids in their waterproof box and rowed in. Timing was critical between the swells. A rastaman helped me drag the dinghy along the beach and I tied it to a little bush and walked into town.
A cruise ship had just docked and the town was awash with tourists. I strolled around taking pictures like everyone else. Getting back through the surf was quite an adventure but I somehow managed to stay dry. Got the anchor up quickly and scuttled back to spend a peaceful night in Ballast Bay before leaving for St Martin the next day.
May 1st, 2014 at 09:31
Sparky looks like he is getting the hang of boat life, hey takes a few falls overboard to truly learn the ropes 😉 Glad to see he is still doing well. It looks like we will be getting another kitten in the next month so should be interesting to see how Felix hangs in there with the new addition.