Northerly swells started coming into the anchorage at Pinney’s Beach.  When this happens, the port (left) side of the boat sounds like water is banging up against the hull.  So, on 1/28/23 we decided to leave our mooring ball and cruise by some of the anchorages.  We looked at the one other Nevis anchorage recommended in the Doyle guide called “Oualie Beach.”  It was a smaller area that was supposed to have calmer waters in northerly swells.  Unfortunately, it was extremely crowded with small, local boats.  We didn’t think we could “tuck in” our boat close enough to shore to be protected.  So, we crossed over to St. Kitts, which was approximately a 15-minute motor from Nevis.  We passed a couple of different bays on the southeastern side of St. Kitts.  There was only one boat there and it didn’t appear that there were any accessible amenities.  So, we continued around the southern tip of the island and decided to anchor outside of the marina called St. Christophe.  There are two other boats in the bay, both American flagged.  Like outside of Charlestown, the water is dark and we can’t see the bottom.  I’m guessing that there is grass below us. 

We spent Friday exploring Charlestown, the capitol of Nevis.  It was bustling for some reason.  As we walked towards the IGA, a large grocery store approximately two miles from the dinghy dock, we saw the fruit and vegetable market full of produce, with multiple vendors.  The other day there were only two or three vendors located in the building.  We walked past the magistrate’s office and courthouse.  I really wish I had been able to take a picture there, as we saw people dressed in regal attire.  I’m sure that this was traditional business wear, but it was interesting to see.  There appeared to be an officer dressed in a brown suit with gold buttons and red trim.  We also saw someone dressed in black clothes with what appeared to be a black cowboy hat with swagger.  People were mulling about outside of the building, which was located along a square.  In the square people were going about their business, chatting away with friends and visiting the smaller businesses along the streets.

In the evening we decided to dinghy to Pinney’s Beach, in front of us.  There is a semi-famous beach bar there called “Sunshines” and they are known for serving a drink called a “Killer Bee.”  There wasn’t a dinghy dock, so we had to beach our dinghy.  This involves motoring up to shore, pulling the motor up, and jumping out into the water so that we can pull our heavy dinghy up onto the beach, out of the surf.  Our dinghy is heavy for just the two of us to pull up onto shore, especially on beaches like this that are steep.  As we were pulling it up, another couple was doing the same thing and they helped us pull our dinghy up out of the surf.  Then, we helped them do the same with their dinghy.  I though our dinghy was heavy, but theirs was even heavier.  They didn’t even try to get it completely out of the surf.  Instead, we pulled it out of the surf partway and then they dug their anchor into the beach to hold it.  They were a couple from Britain.  Unfortunately they were having drinks with a different couple and couldn’t join us. 

We chose a table long the beach.  This beach bar actually had floors and was a step above the sandy beach.  A vendor or two were on the beach.  And, there was a corn hole game set up, all under palm trees.  A small, smoky fire was lit to try to keep the mosquitos at bay.  Unfortunately I forgot to put bug spray on so I got dozens of bites.  We each ordered  a Killer Bee, which was a passion-fruit inspired rum punch and it was delicious.  It tasted like fruit juice, even though we knew there was rum in it.  This bar had wifi so I took advantage of it and Skyped with Dad.   After a while, we decided to order the lobster and conch dishes and shared them.  They were both delicious!  The owner, Sunshine, happened to be sitting at the next table and we started talking to him.  He started his bar on the beach with a cooler.  Now it is a farm-to-table beach bar that is doing well.  He brought us each a salad, which was incredible.  I typically don’t eat many salads in the Caribbean because the vegetables are washed in water that might not agree with me.  However, these were so good that we took a chance.  We also ordered some Calamari which was also very good.  The sunset was beautiful and we had an wonderful end to our day of exploring Nevis.

This morning, 1/26/23, we went into the town of Charlestown and “cleared in” to customs and immigration for the sovereign countries of Nevis and St. Kitts.  Then we walked around town.  The town itself was charming and a little more involved than some of the smaller islands that we’ve been to.  There was a downtown area with a fruit market, several small grocery stores, several banks, small businesses, shops, and more.  Town was several blocks long and the streets had clearly-marked signs.

First we visited the Museum of Nevis to learn about Alexander Hamilton.  Even though he is considered one of the United States’ founding fathers, he was born in Nevis.  The museum was small but nicely done.  Then we walked along the streets to see the different stores and to “window shop” at the bakeries.  From there, we walked about a mile out of town to Fort Charles.  This was not very built up and goats mowed the grass.  However, it was a nice walk on the streets, ending up at a point in our bay.  We can actually see Fort Charles from our anchorage.  We were the only visitors walking on the grounds, which was fun.  There were rusted cannons pointing out to the sea as well as the ruins of a building or two.  On our return, we walked along the black-sand shoreline to our dinghy, which was tied at the dock.

On 1/25/23 we woke up early and left around 6:30a, just after the sun was up.  Again, we wanted to be sure that we were able to see any fish pots in our path.

When we sail, we have our radio tuned to channel 16, which is the emergency channel.  (A PanPan call means you need assistance but you are not sinking or in catastrophic danger.)  While we were a couple of hours off of Nevis, we heard a PanPan call regarding a missing diver.  The coast guard was responding, as were other sailing vessels in the area.  It added a bit of excitement to our 10-hour sail to listen to the coordinated rescue effort.  I didn’t hear whether or not they found the diver, but I hope so.  It was too late to check in when we arrived.  So, I hoisted the “Q” flag, which is a yellow flag indicating that we haven’t checked into customs yet.

We are anchored in front of Pinney’s Beach, which is probably a mile-long, white-sand beach.  We were lucky enough to get a mooring ball when we arrived yesterday.  There are roughly ten balls in the mooring field.  Anyone who doesn’t get a ball has to anchor.  The water under our boat is dark and not nearly as clear as we saw at our last anchorages in Antigua.  The island itself is steep-to, which means that it is deep water up until close to shore.  There is a beautiful, 3,800 foot above sea level mountain in front of our anchorage, whose top is frequently touched by clouds.  Though, we have seen the clouds dissipate for a few minutes here and there. 

On one of our last days at Rabbit Island, we decided to return to Lobster Island to snorkel.  We took the GoPro this time and caught some great video footage.  It was really nice to get into the turquoise waters of Antigua one last time before our departure.  And, I am happy to say that the Barracuda that was under our boat the other day had not found us while snorkeling.

We sailed back to Jolly Harbor and did some provisioning.  Our refrigerator is stocked with several days’ worth of food so we are ready to travel.  We checked out on January 24, 2023.  There was a beautiful sunset on that evening, which was the perfect close to our time in Antigua.

On 1/20/23, we checked out of the marina.  I felt as though I could have stayed in the marina another night or two, but it was time for us to leave.  We headed up to the northern part of Antigua and anchored off of Rabbit Island.  This is one of our favorite anchorages around Antigua because of its raw beauty.  Only a handful of other boats are ever anchored in this area, which is perfect.  We enjoy the tranquility of the location but know that we are not entirely alone in the anchorage.   “Tranquility” may not be the right word to use, as the wind is strong here and there can be some swells.  However, we have found a good location that minimizes both.

Soon after we arrived in our anchorage, we decided to go snorkeling to search for lobsters off of Lobster Island.  We have snorkeled here before and never seen any lobsters.  The last time we were here, however, our friends on Nova Star said that they saw a half a dozen lobsters around the island.  We were determined to find them.  We did!  It was so exciting to see them hiding under rocks with their antennae out.  Steve had worn gloves and tried to catch them.  While their eye sight isn’t that great, their antennae alert them to danger.  As soon as Steve tried to pull their antennae, they backed way down into their holes.  All in all, we saw a half a dozen lobsters.  It was awesome!  Unfortunately, we didn’t catch any so no lobster dinner for us.

We cleared into customs in Antigua on 1/16/23 and returned to the boat.  The water was incredibly calm and clear.  In fact, it was so clear that we saw a ray swim right off of the stern (back) of our boat. 

We entered the marina on 1/17/23 and are now enjoying electricity, water, and amenities just off of the dock.  When in the marina, we get to work.  I clean the boat and Steve works on the engines and other items that need to be fixed.  We had our laundry cleaned (in the marina) and went to the grocery store, which is located directly across from the marina.  It is nice to just relax and enjoy civilization for a while.

We really enjoyed Marie Galante, but it was time to move on to a different island and a new adventure.  We headed to Montserrat, which involved two days of travelling.  From Marie Galante, we sailed to Basse Terre on Guadeloupe so that we could clear customs.  Then, we sailed north two hours to anchor just off of Pigeon Island.  During our sail the Douane (customs patrol) surprised us and motored a couple of feet off of our port (left) side.  We waved to them and they waved back.  Then, they motored a couple of feet off of the back of our boat when we were anchored.  We don’t know if they were on a heightened alert or if this was simply their normal schedule.  I said “Bon Soir” to them and they responded the same way as they kept going. 

Our sail to Montserrat was another long day.  We left around 6:30a, as soon as we could see the fish pots in the water.  The sail was a little rough, but we made good time and arrived in Montserrat around 3:30p.  We were able to clear in through customs with only 7 minutes to spare.  Since it was Friday, this meant that we didn’t need to pay an additional fee to compensate staff to work after hours. 

The sun was shining brightly as we sailed along the lee of the island so I was able to take several beautiful pictures of the volcano.  We could clearly see where the lava flowed when the volcano previously erupted.  Taking pictures was a challenge, as we were bobbing up and down in the sea.  Even though I was strapped to the boat, it was a challenge to keep my balance and steady the camera. 

The anchorage at Montserrat was very challenging.  There was a small area designated where we could anchor, which was close to a large cliff.  The other area where we could anchor was not supposed to be as protected as where we were.  We ended up re-anchoring several times to ensure that we wouldn’t hit the cliff.  Steve set an anchor alarm to let him know if the anchor moved or if we were drifting too close to the cliffs.  Unfortunately, the alarm went off approximately every half an hour throughout the night.  Steve was up on deck several times watching to see where the boat was. 

Our original plan was to tour Montserrat Saturday and then leave on Sunday.  Steady winds were forecasted and the sea state was supposed to be 4 -6 feet. Unfortunately, the weather changed and the wind was supposed to die down considerably and become unsteady (both in speed and direction).  So, first thing in the morning, Steve said that we needed to leave Saturday.  We hoped to spend half the day touring Montserrat and then sail in the afternoon to Antigua.  However, with the boat moving around so close to the cliffs, we didn’t want to leave the boat alone.  So, in the end, we simply left without exploring Montserrat.  We felt very disappointed, as we were looking forward to seeing the active volcano.  Our hope was to get into the outskirts of Plymouth, which is still in the exclusion zone, but is somewhat uncovered.

On our sail to Antigua we encountered 8 to 10 foot seas, which meant we were bobbing up and down quite a bit.  However, after about an hour or so of sailing, the sea state settled back into 5 or 6 foot swells, which is much more comfortable.  And, once we got closer to Antigua, the swells were even lower and moving around on the boat was much easier.  We encountered several rain squalls along the way and seeing Antigua in the distance became a challenge, even 10 miles away.  Eventually we made it and we anchored in Valley Church, an anchorage in which we are very comfortable.