DEEP BAY

Well we are in Deep Bay tucked up towards the NE corner and watching the big swells roll in while the wind is whistling in the rigging.

It is a pretty spot and we may make it up to the battery later today if I decide that it worth risking beaching the dink. The swells are over 3 metres and even in the sheltered corner the waves are breaking on the beach.

It is a shame that Gaye will not get a chance to snorkel on the wreck but the viz will be close to zero.

So we are on pelican watch, turtle spotting and best of all watching IDIOTS trying to motor sail North in strong winds and big swells. I think they are competing to see who can get the most unpleasant sail with seasick crew all with boat breaking conditions.

Saintes Guadeloupe Antigua

The sail from the Saintes to Guadeloupe was a rorty one with the 8 knots showing most of the way despite having the second reef in and only the staysail. But it was short and things soon calmed down in the lea of Guadeloupe.

PIGEON ISLAND SNORKEL

We snorkeled at Pigeon Island and I got a reminder of just how special it can be. The vix was fantastic the coral spectacular and the fish were everywhere and not the least bit camera shy. I suspect that there is some feeding going on but who cares. Black triggers reticulated horned box fish and small groupers were everywhere

The next stop was Deshaies and the obligatory visit to the botanical gardens.

I will let the pictures do the talking.

The next job was to see if I can get the fitting I need to redo the base os the inner forestay. I thought I had it cracked but somehow the thread was just oversize.

It seems it might have been something made as a one off initially.

ANTIGUA BOUND
We made the passage over to Antigua without the staysail which was no big deal as with a single reef in the main and about 60 % of the genoa rolled out we were doing 7.5 to 8 knots with the wind just forward of the beam. The seas were down and it was a great sail over in the sunshine.

We are tucked up off the beach just outside Jolly Harbor and the Christmas winds that relented for a day to give us a pleasant sail over from Guadeloupe to Antigua are blowing hard again

So it is off to Deep Bay and a chance to see the wreck that lies just beneath the surface.

he Andes was a three-masted steel sailing barque built in England in 1874. In early June of 1905, it left Trinidad with a cargo hold full of pitch (tar) bound for Chile.

They first sailed northeast before sailing south in order to sail the trade winds to Cape Horn, but had a problem approaching Antigua. The barrels of pitch were rubbing against each other and this generated a lot of heat, enough to create smoke that started drifting above decks.

The captain of the ship wanted to anchor in St. Johns Harbor, but the harbormaster directed them to Deep Bay. The busy St. Johns Harbor was no place for a burning ship – it would have been a hazard to any other vessel in the harbor.

So they anchored in Deep Bay, and as soon as the hatches were open enough oxygen was introduced to the cargo holds to ignite the tar. The ship burned and sank bow first, but all of the crew was spared.

Since its sinking in 1905, an abundance of coral, gorgonians, and sponges have taken hold of the steel hull and reef fish have moved in.

Arrived safely in the Saintes

We had a fairly comfortable passage with only one of the squalls Chris Parker had forecast.

Sitting comfortably off the main town but may move tomorrow if we can find a good spot off Cabrits as we have strong NE winds in the forecast.

Bound for the Saintes on Monday 5th February.

We plan to leave for the Saintes from Portsmouth Dominica on Monday.

The new geared starter motor arrived and after a few tweaks here and there was fitted. It was smaller and lighter than the old direct drive starter. I had asked for feedback from other users and they said it will work just fine and even better than the direct drive one.

It was a very good moment when the old Perkins burst into life at the first turn of the key.

Big ups for Transatlantic Diesels who supplied the starter, Fedex who delivered it to Dominica in two days and Dominican Customs who processed it in 15 minutes and after asking for my ships clearance papers accepted that it was a spare part for a yacht in transit and said there was no duty to be paid.

I was able to fit it myself and only suffered a few aching muscles from working in awkward positions.

CALIBISHIE
This is a small village on the North East coast of Dominica. We took a local dollar bus to get there and for the first time Gaye experienced the bus drivers mantra. “ THERE IS ALWAYS ROOM FOR ONE MORE. “ At one point she was sharing a seat made for three with four other people plus a child. I was expecting the hurricane damage to be more severe as Calibishie would have been in the most dangerous quadrant of the storm but although the damage was severe in the pass over to Calibishie the village had escaped with less damage than I expected. Only one section of the church window gone and many palms with some leaves and nuts still hanging in there. However the church opposite had lost three quarters of it's roof. The village was still without electricity except for those with generators.

Calibishie is a pretty little village right on the seafront. A reef protects the anchorage which was calm with barely a ripple, not enough water for most keel boats and a very scary entrance.

Some newer houses had been built with a view to holiday lets but there were a few older ones to give character to the place.

HARBOR HAPPENINGS
Gaye and I both marveled at the skill of the tugboat driver who towed the huge barge into the harbor on a long tow then reconfigured the tug and barges as a hip tow then proceeded to dock his unwieldy charge on the end of the narrow concrete dock at his first attempt. There has been a lot of coming and going but the boat numbers are down compared to past years. People are staying away which is a pity.

MONSTER MOTH
Dizzy has enjoyed snacking on the odd small moth that has come aboard , drawn in by our cockpit light. So when th light stated to flicker and flapping of the moths wings disturbed the chaos potential it was hardly a surprise when this little rocket propelled cat shot up to get the moth. Now initially I had said it had to be a bat as it was huge. But when it alighted on my sunglasses I could see it was indeed a moth and a pretty stunning one too. At 8 inches wingspan it deserved a flutter on part in Silence of the Lambs. It kept Dizzy amused for an hour or so.

LOCAL SKILLS
Igna the one armed marine mechanic is a wonder to watch in action. I called on his assistance when I needed to bend the no. 2 injector pipe t0 allow the starter to fit in place. He does not see himself as disabled and neither do the fisherman as he keeps their outboards running.

This local artist is self taught.

This basket now has pride of place on my salon table. I marvel at the exact spacing and symmetry of the weaving and the end result is pleasing to my eye. It is a traditional design and comes from the Carib Indian village on Dominica.

Pics to come when I get a broadband connection.