Hello Antigua

This post is being composed whilst gently bobbing at anchor in Nonsuch Bay, Antigua, a reef-protected expanse of water covering several square miles. Incredible to think that as we gaze out to the east, there is only a reef between us and the Atlantic Ocean rolling unbroken from Africa. Turquoise, shallow, warm water over sand has encouraged even the Skipper to swim several times a day whilst I have been enjoying snorkelling over the nearby reefs; so many fish of all shapes, sizes and colours and such clear water. The coral is so colourful and so alive with so many different types. Yesterday we saw two sting rays, one from on board as it swam under the boat. It has been a great place to spend the weekend. The sunsets here have been fabulous, especially so last evening.

Arrived in Falmouth Harbour on Tuesday evening (17 January) after a fabulous beam reach passage up from Guadeloupe (Follyfin averaged 7.0kn - a record) and during which we caught a large mahi-mahi fish, 85cm long which has been feeding us for the last week. You'd be surprised how many ways this excellent fish can be served: ceviche, sautéed fillet, pasta Follyfin, curried and chowder to name but some.

Note - this is a fish of the same species caught on our Atlantic crossing, as a reminder to those who might have forgotten what they look like. I was busy operating the gaff on the latest catch so no pics!

We spent the first couple of days doing the tourist thing. English Harbour sits side by side with Falmouth and is only a short walk away. It is home of Nelson’s Dockyard, the foundations of which were begun in 1745. Completed in 1789, it was Britain’s main naval station in the Caribbean Lesser Antilles with Nelson himself being stationed here in 1784. Over the centuries it gradually fell into disrepair but has now been fully restored and is the only example of an 18th century Caribbean dockyard/harbour as it used to be.

It is all the better for still being fully functional, it attracts some beautiful classic yachts, and is home to the Sunsail Charter company. Falmouth Harbour is much larger, with two marinas designed for super yachts, of which there are many. This one shown below headed out from the marina past us one morning… aptly named Vertigo it is 223ft long, 39ft wide and has a draft of 5.1m. 

And it's not just their yachts that the rich and famous show off here. On our way up to Nonsuch Bay, we passed under Indian Creek Point (250ft), the whole of which is occupied by Eric Clapton’s mansion. Yes, Antigua really is a paradise for the wealthy but luckily small fry like us can also enjoy it in passing.

Wednesday afternoon saw us taking a water taxi from Nelson's Dockyard over to Galleons Beach where the trail up to Shirley Heights Lookout (490ft) begins. We opted for the long way up, taking us along the coast first and through a most exotic population of cacti, conjuring up HG Wells’ tryphids.

Shirley Heights, named after the Governor of Antigua in Nelson's time, affords a magnificent viewpoint over English and Falmouth Harbours.

It's easy to see why the potential of these bays was recognised back in the 18th century as they are very sheltered from storms and hurricanes, easily defended against the French (mainly) and immediate access to the trade winds. The much shorter way down via the Nicholson Trail (named after Desmond Nicholson who’s father Vernon not only instigated the restoration of Nelson's Dockyard when he found it in ruins in 1947 but also founded Nicholsons Charter Co., the first charter yacht company in the Caribbean) leads through forest with some interesting plants.

We departed Falmouth on Thursday afternoon, heading east and anchoring in Mamora Bay one night, then Ricketts harbour the next before arriving here… in paradise! Next stop will be Barbuda, after we have revisited Customs in English Harbour to fulfill the complicated formalities, and reprovisioned (and of course, uploaded this blog post!)

Farewell Guadeloupe

It was another fun-filled but relaxing week including lots of sea swimming, scuba diving at Les Îles des Petite Terre for Laurel ("one of the best dives of my life"), hiking on Basse Terre for Flora's parents whilst Skipper and I were left OIC of Flora for the day, and a visit to the Aquarium so the rest of us could also admire the tropical marine life.

It has been a wonderful holiday for us all. But alas, Team Hodgkinson departed yesterday, Sunday. All squashed into tiny rental car, Flora planning the route to the airport. Don't let her near GPS til she can map read please!

Meanwhile for the crew of Follyfin, it has been a day of tying up loose ends, paying our dues and generally preparing for our next passage. Tomorrow, Tuesday, she sets sail for Antigua. We have decided to sail up the east coast of Guadeloupe, a route less frequented by cruising folk. It should be a beautiful beam or broad reach for most of the 66nm passage. We'll see.

However, First Mate found time for some extra-curricular activity... taking her courage in both hands, she tried scuba diving herself.

Encouraged first by Ivor when we met on Grenada in December, and then by Laurel this last week, I am so glad I did. My 'baptême de Plongée' in the lagoon outside the marina was magnifique! So many fish and so brightly coloured, even at 3m depth. And the coral... Must do it again - a New Year's resolution!

Atlantic Odyssey anniversary

Exactly a year, a whole year - to the very day as I write this - since we set sail from Tenerife on 9 January 2016 into the wide blue yonder. Remembering now the feeling of excitement mixed with not a little trepidation as we cast off from that place with 3000 miles of ocean between us and landfall in the Caribbean … well it's hard to believe, and how the time has flown. We celebrated the anniversary this evening with a delicious meal of mahi-mahi fish cooked by William (job in the galley awaits you Will). He, Laurel and Flora have now been here a week. 

Now here we are, still safely berthed in St. François marina on Guadeloupe. 

Much enjoyment has been had during the week, especially by the back-up team from Follyfin. Flora is a real little water baby, swimming once or twice a day and loving splashing in the warm sea and the pool at their apartment.

One of our first expeditions was to Pointe des Chateaux, the SE tip of the island and not far from where we are staying. There one can witness the power of the Atlantic in all its majesty. From there it is possible to see the island where Christopher Columbus first made landfall on his second voyage. QLa Désirade is the 700 foot high, flat-topped island seen in the distance below, so-called because he and his crew were so happy to see it after over two months at sea.

On another afternoon we explored the north coast of Grande Terre - the large island making up the eastern half of the lop-sided butterfly shape of Guadeloupe as a whole. Being the windward side, and having had much volcanic activity in the past, the coast is much indented. Our geological friends will be delighted to know we found an almost circular cove, a cirque even, which provided yet another swimming opportunity, sea urchins permitting.

On Saturday Laurel headed out with Noa Plongée (with a little apprehension) to refresh her scuba diving proficiency after a 6-year break … but the name of the outfit, even without the ‘h’ on the end, was a great incentive as was a nearby shop named ‘Laurel B’; it was obviously meant to be!

Meanwhile, back on Follyfin, you know by now that there is always something in need of fixing on a boat? This time it's the water pump which has packed up, meaning that we can't get any water out of any of the taps in the galley or the heads. So the Bosun has spent much time this week trying to repair it. Having finally given up, a trip to the chandlers in Pointe á Pitre would be needed at some point before we set sail again.

Yesterday, Sunday, we decided to venture further afield to explore the interior of Basse  Terre - the western half of the lop-sided butterfly shape of Guadeloupe. It is geologically much younger than Grande Terre, with more recent volcanic activity, so is much more mountainous and covered in tropical rain forest. Basse and Grande Terre are both islands, separated by a narrow mangrove channel, the Rivière Salée. Handily, the chandlers was on the way so the Bosun was able to purchase a replacement water pump for Follyfin.

Taking the Route de la Traversée, which cuts east-west across Basse Terre, enabled us to appreciate the mountains and the rain forest of the national park. The high point of our Sunday outing, in more ways than one, was a visit to the Parc Zoologique et Botanique des Mamelles. If ever you are in this neck of the woods, this is a must-see place. A very well constructed walkway leads one through the gardens which are set in the midst of the tropical rain forest on the side of a mountain; the range of vegetation is vast and wonderful. It feels wild but it is discreetly managed. There is a fantastic tree-top rope walk which runs right round the garden up in the rain forest canopy. The others were unphased by it but I admit I found it slightly precarious at first.

As well as the plants there are animal enclosures containing a range of big cats, turtles, terrapins, crabs, birds, small mammals, bats, monkeys, reptiles etc. Flora was particularly taken with a small green gecko which cooperated by staring at her through the glass wall of its home.

We have another week here in which there will no doubt be lots more swimming, relaxing, exploring, diving, snorkelling, fresh fish, and maybe even some langouste (Guadeloupian equivalent of lobster)… we'll see! Below see an example of the tuna they catch around here.

Flora is busy acquiring her sea legs for the short excursion on Follyfin, out of the marina, that we plan for later this week. Watch this space...

STOP PRESS!

The day after the text for this blog was composed, the Bosun/Engineer announced that the water pump had been fixed - another triumph for that indispensable member of the crew. The Skipper awarded him an extra grog for his trouble.

P.S. It's now 2 days after this text was composed. The delay in publishing this post was caused by the extreme flakiness of our internet connections in this location. Grrrr!

Happy Hogmanay

Wishing you all a happy and healthy year in 2017!

Here in St. François marina on Guadeloupe, we might as well be in Brittany ... except for the deliciously warm, tourqoise sea and consistently warm air, typically 28-32 degrees C. To celebrate Hogmanay, we chose to go out for lunch, not just any lunch mind you. This one required a 10km cycle ride to reach the venue, which was a Creole restaurant positioned overlooking the ocean on the SE tip of Guadeloupe.

It was a stormy day but we managed to dodge the heavy showers. And the traditional 'planteur' to start got us in the right mood after our exertions.

Afterwards we needed to work off the excellent seafood lunch so explored the nearby beaches. Finding one to our liking, went swimming in the warm ocean before the cycle home. A good start to the new year!

It took us two days sailing to get here from Dominica: a half-day's comfortable reach from there to Îles des Saintes, known as 'The Saints', and a long,10-hour beat from The Saints up to here. For a 30 mile direct trip, we actually sailed 58 miles! It's no wonder there are very few cruising boats in here, and no others from the UK. However the pay-off will be the lovely broad reach we expect to have when we leave and sail up the east coast to Antigua.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. We plan to be here in the marina for 2 weeks. It is well protected by reefs outside so we are enjoying the stability at night as opposed to the often rolly nights we have spent at anchor or on moorings recently. Tomorrow daughter Laurel, her husband William and grand-daughter Flora arrive to stay in a nearby apartment for a fortnight. After the year they have had, what with the high of Flora's birth almost a year ago and then the low of the trauma of Flora's kidney infection when on holiday in the US, we are hoping this will be the rest cure they need. To cap everything, Flora contracted chicken pox just before Christmas... let's hope there are no more surprises like that.

Christmas highlights: pre- and post-

I'm It’s been a while since the last post but, well, you have all been busy celebrating Xmas haven't you? Hope you had a good one. Down here it's been a very different festive season for us. Having spent 4 days changing the failed starter motor and relay, and fixing the outboard motor, we finally slipped our mooring in True Blue Bay, Grenada, at daybreak on 13 December. The 9h, 50nm passage to Tyrrel Bay on Carriacou was straightforward. A highlight was porridge served with nutmeg syrup. Having visited the nutmeg factory on Grenada, courtesy of a day’s outing with Wendy and Kevin, we could appreciate the work that goes into making the delicious syrup.

It was a peaceful evening

but we had a scare that night: having anchored quite near a shallow reef area named Barefoot Alley, we were woken in the small hours by a series of loud bumps beneath us. It was the keel hitting the reef - the wind had blown up with several very strong gusts and our anchor had slipped a few metres. Luckily Follyfin’s lifting keel enabled us to solve the problem immediately but needless to say, once day dawned we moved to deeper water. One day to recover in Tyrrell, clear out of Grenada customs (Carriacou is part of Grenada) and revisit the waterfront, we then tackled the 27h, 155nm overnight passage to St. Anne on Martinique, leaving Tyrrell on 15 Dec. The high spot was a visit from a pod of about 12 bottlenose dolphins, who played in our bow wave for about half an hour.

It was good to return to St. Anne where we had anchored earlier this year on first arrival in the Carribean.

However the weather was somewhat different, with frequent showers and very strong gusts of wind also frequent. Nevertheless one day saw us recovered from the tiring passage and by Sunday morning the Skipper felt able to tackle the Duogen problem, having been unable to fit it in Trinidad. With the promise of entrecôte and fries for lunch at Snack Boubou, we got it done and went ashore to celebrate. Took our time, chatting to other cruisers, connecting to wifi, savouring locally made coconut ice cream etc. Then dinghied back to Follyfin BUT stepping on board, Skipper immediately knew things were not as he had left them. As we puzzled to work out what had happened, a young French couple from a neighbouring boat came over in their dinghy and told us they had seen Follyfin dragging her anchor during a particularly strong gust in the early afternoon. They and another couple got on board, and started the engine to stop the drag - Skipper had fortunately decided to leave the key in the ignition and the batteries on, feeling that there was a very small probablitity Follyfin might drag (never thinking it would actually happen!). Well, we thought we had the anchor well dug in but… thanks to those young people, so alert and interested enough to help another boat in distress, even resetting the anchor and diving on it to ensure it was well dug in and... we are still afloat. Phew!

Needing an extra day to recover from that experience, the next move on 20 Dec was to sail round the SW point of Martinique and into the bay of Fort de France, the capital of Martinique, in order to reprovision for Christmas. Just 25nm, it was a splendid sail, achieving a record top boat speed for Follyfin of 10.5kn. However this sailing treat was followed by an anchoring nightmare. Suffice to say that during the 2 days we were in the Anse de Mitan, across the bay from the capital, we reset the anchor 6 times, eventually deploying a second anchor as insurance. Knowing that we would be leaving Follyfin for the best part of a day when we caught the ferry across the bay, we needed to be sure she would not move… 

Next stop would be Roseau on the beautiful unspoilt island of Dominica (not the Dominican Republic!). We made an excellent 57nm passage on 22 Dec, arriving after 7 hours and top speed of 10.2kn, experiencing big seas and strong wind on the 26nm open water stretch between the islands, and force 7 gusts off the mountainous SW tip of Dominica.

The west coast of this island is very steep to the shore so we were not prepared to risk anchoring again. We took one of ‘Sea Cat’s’ mooring buoys and slept peacefully there for 4 nights. Visited the wonderful and huge market on Friday 23 Dec. Christmas Eve’s special treat was a whale watching trip. The best view we had was of the magnificent skeleton of a sperm whale in the hotel organising the trip. 

Otherwise much time was spent searching with a hydrophone

eventually tracking one down for close sighting, although we saw the spouts of her group a little further off. Being honest, the trip was slightly disappointing. 

However, this was made up for many times over by the Christmas Day tour with Sea Cat himself (real name Octavius Lugay) we took with two others. He drove us first high up into the Morne Trois Pitons National Parkup to the crater lakes, Freshwater and Boeri, where the air is cool and the vegetation is called ‘elfin’ or cloud forest. Beautiful open views down the 2800ft to the sea, and no other people. Next we went to Titou Gorge - a slot-canyon that winds back ~200m into the mountain and a thundering waterfall. The sheer walls are narrow and twisty and the bottom is a river so you have to swim up and float back…. Diana and I did and were rewarded with dramatic views up to the sky through thick rain forest vegetation. The guys decided against it - they missed a treat. 

The next totally unique Christmas Day experience was a challenging ‘hike’ up, over and between slippery boulders towards the pool at the foot of Trafalgar Falls, clad only in bathing suits and sandals. So unfortunately no photos! Sea Cat was a fantastic guide, encouraging the faint-hearted and less fit amongst us up, up and up again until we left all the other trippers far behind and were able to luxuriate in warm rock pools under hot ‘showers’ spouting out of the rock. Admittedly our skin did turn slightly orange from the iron ore that was liberally deposited on the rock surfaces. What a great way to spend Christmas Day, one that we won't forget.

After lunch at a small roadside restaurant, we were then driven slowly back down through the sulphur hot spring area and the different forest layers, visiting the Botanic Garden to see the humming birds on the Powder Puff tree and on to the Champagne Beach -  so-called because warm bubbles ascend in about 10ft of water - where there is excellent snorkelling on the nearby reef. 

So ended a most memorable Christmas Day… after our Christmas dinner of Confit de Canard, courtesy of Mr Carrefour.

Boxing Day saw us leave Roseau and sail on up the west coast of Dominica to Prince Rupert Bay near Portsmouth. Taking another mooring buoy, we arranged with Martin, the guide recommended by Sea Cat, to take us up the Indian River this morning, 27 Dec. He collected us in his boat at 06:30 and off we went, again sharing with another couple. At that time no one else was about and rowing up this river was nothing short of magical. The following photos may capture some of the atmosphere… many birds were seen, including three species of heron, banana birds, bull finches, humming birds. Even the Dominican parrot was seen fleetingly but not by me. The plants were amazing too, the variety, colours, shapes and sizes, many with medicinal properties as explained by Martin who is a botanist by training and extremely knowledgable.

GIANT MALE CRABWITH FIGHTING CLAW READY FOR ACTION

GREAT BLUE HERONS ON NEST - Family of three

PHILODENDRON CLIMBING SWAMP BLOODWOOD TREE

MARTIN, OUR GUIDE

SATISFIED CUSTOMERS, F HOLDING HAND-CRAFTED BIRD OF PARADISE

We will be heading for Guadeloupe tomorrow, via the Îles des Saintes. Hopefully the interval between this and the next post from there will be less than two weeks.

Afloat again

I

Sitting here in True Blue Bay, Grenada, on 12 December, it's hard to believe that Christmas Day is only 2 weeks away. It's a month since we left the UK, spending 10 days with Warren, Lara and family in Jersey City en route to Trinidad. We found Follyfin in good shape after her 7 months languishing on land over the hurricane/rainy season. Quite dusty and dirty but no mold as we had left an air conditioning unit connected to prevent the humidity building up. Only slight worry is the occasional sighting of a cockroach on board... at first thought they had flown in when the door was first opened but now have killed 5 so I fear an infestation. Boric acid is apparently the thing to eliminate them...the only positive thing about the cockroach is that it hates humans, so it keeps a very low profile.

The climate in Trinidad is 'challenging' for working in, to say the least, with high temperatures typically over 35°C coupled with 70-80% humidity punctuated by frequent torrential downpours. Factor in a dose of nasty Caribbean flu and what do you get? A Skipper and First Mate virtually unable to move! For the first time ever we employed someone else to sand Follyfin's bottom and apply one coat of primer then two coats of antifoul paint. Also employed someone to polish her top sides (usually my job). Finally Follyfin was ready to be launched, and two weeks after arriving in Trinidad, we sailed away North to Grenada. And a cracking sail that was, in stealth mode overnight to avoid Venezualan pirates, but fast (max speed 8.3 kn, average 6.2 kn), so fast indeed that we arrived 2 hours before dawn so had to slow down to wait for enough light to get into St David's Harbour.

What did we achieve in Trinidad, apart from fitting out Follyfin for her next sailing season? One special US visa for entering the US on a private vessel and visits to (1) the Angostura Bitters and Rum factory,  (2) the huge open market in Port of Spain, plus (3) meeting two old school chums (brothers from Trinidad sent to Catholic boarding school in UK) of Mick's whom he hadn't seen for 55 years! 

Michael donated an empty Bitters bottle to the Angostura museum: it was so old that they could not date it but we knew it was at least 42 years old. Also met Miss World 1986, now the Angostura PR director, then Miss Trinidad and Tobago. Unfortunately illness prevented us from any other planned sight-seeing visits.

At another boatyard in Grenada, Follyfin had her gearbox removed and relapped, an operation we had arranged previously. This work completed, we finally got our old friends Wendy and Kevin aboard on Friday 9 December for a short sail west along the south coast of Grenada to True Blue, where we had arranged to rendez-vous with Ivor and Marina who were at the end of their 2-week charter from there with two friends. So in the end we only had 24 hours together, and unfortunately Marina had had to leave to catch her flight to USA before we linked up. Better than nothing though!

You know the saying "there's always something to do on a boat"? The truth of that saying has been driven home several-fold these past few weeks... As we turned on the engine to come into True Blue, a horrible burning smell emerged from the engine. The starter motor plus it's relay had decided to burn out. Since then the outboard motor for the dinghy has given up the ghost too. Other ongoing problems include the internal water pump which has a leak - somewhere - and we have been unable to fit the Duogen (hydro and wind power generation) back into its place on the stern. At least the engineer/mechanic/bosun won't get bored! Assuming the new starter motor relay piece arrives today, we hope to get away this evening or tomorrow, and make for Martinique direct. That will be a good place to stock up for Christmas!

STO PRESS: The outboard was fixed this morning after I drafted this blog. Hooray!

Revving up for the Return

As you may recall dear reader, we left our Follyfin in Trinidad at the end of April. Having spent the summer - or most of it - at home in North Yorkshire, our thoughts are now turning back to sailing. The leaves are beginning to turn and the air temperature is dropping. Autumn is almost upon us and the Caribbean calls. Before we go...

We have recently been reviewing our sailing adventures in advance of a local fund-raiser for the RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution) at which we will talk about the Ruby Cruise - more of this below. The first thing to do was to create a map to show the route, in which you may be interested.

 

For more detail of the places visited, see the following sequence of maps taking Follyfin from Brittany to Trinidad via Guernsey, Normandy, UK, Spain, Portugal, Madeira, Lanzarote, Tenerife, Martinique, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Tobago Cays, Bequia, Canouan, Carriacou and Grenada. Phew! What a trip.

 

You can clearly see the undulations of the ocean's seabed. Amazing to think we sailed over the top of all that!

Back to the RNLI talk: this is being done in conjunction with a nationwide event instigated by the RNLI, their Fish Supper (click here) So the Skipper and I thought we would link this to a talk about our personal Atlantic Odyssey, our Ruby Cruise. We have gathered together photos and video clips from Cabin Boy, Deck Hand No.1 and moi First Mate, whilst Second Mate is busy compiling a short film from the extensive footage he acquired on his GoPro during the crossing. There will be Fish and Chips delivered from the nearby pub - The Fairfax Arms - and a raffle. More information can be seen by clicking here