The Joy of a Calm Anchorage



Simpson Bay Lagoon

As we work our way through our winter project list here in St. Martin, we give daily thanks for our calm anchorage.  Flat water to float your boat is a rare thing in the Eastern Caribbean.  Most of the popular anchorages are on the leeward side of the islands, offering some protection from the prevailing wind and wind-driven waves.  They are open to the west, though, so that considerable ocean swells are often present.   Long period swells, with a period of ten or more seconds between waves and wave heights of 3 to 5 feet are not unusual.  A heavy boat like ours with a slow roll period is reasonably comfortable at anchor in those conditions, as long as the direction is not off the beam, or side of the boat.

Even though the motion is gentle and we're accustomed to it, it is always there.  Our dining table and the galley counters have raised edges, called fiddles, to keep dishes from sliding off, and we've unconsciously learned to time our pouring of beverages so that they don't go astray.  When the swell comes off the beam and grows large, perhaps as a result of a storm hundreds of miles away, the adjustments that we make are less automatic, and life becomes more challenging.  Leslie has often joked about the fact that we don't have to do any special exercises for our abdominal muscles -- routine activities like sitting, standing, and walking around our constantly moving boat keep us well-toned.

There are a couple of places where we spend time that offer all-around protection.  One of these is Port Egmont, on the south coast of Grenada.  It is a relatively small bay, completely surrounded by tall hills, with a winding, fjord-like entrance.  We've ridden out hurricanes there in safety and reasonable comfort, so in normal weather, the water is as flat as a mill pond.  Port Egmont also offers solitude, as there isn't much there to attract cruising boats.  There are houses, and people living there, but not too many, and there are no businesses.  Shore access requires getting your feet wet.  We like it, but it's not for everyone.

Our other favorite spot for all-around protection and flat water is Simpson Bay Lagoon in St. Martin.  It's quite a contrast to Port Egmont.  It's larger, and there are hundreds of boats sharing it with us.  They range from small cruising boats like Play Actor to huge megayachts sporting helicopters on deck.  One had a 40 foot sloop, as big as our boat, hanging from davits, ready in case their charter guests wanted to go for an afternoon sail.  They're generally available for charter, if you're interested in spending a couple of hundred thousand dollars for a brief respite from winter weather.

Simpson Bay Lagoon also features two large marine supply stores and innumerable specialty shops to cater to a boater's every need.  The island is completely duty-free, and prices on most marine supplies are lower than in the U.S.  We normally spend our time away from St. Martin compiling a project list, to be undertaken on our next visit.  This year was no exception, and we're steadily working our way through the list as we enjoy the calm water and ready access to all sorts of shore-side attractions, including several gourmet grocery stores.

We are also able to get high speed Internet access in the anchorage.  We subscribe to a service that uses fixed cellular technology to provide access all over the island -- even on an anchored boat.  What a luxury, and we get a good night's sleep every night in the bargain, because of the wonderful protection afforded by the high ground all around us.

Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas, and the crew of Play Actor wishes you all a Happy New Year.

We're here!





Sunset in Jolly Harbour, Antigua, the night before we left

We're in our favorite winter anchorage on the French side of Simpson Bay Lagoon in St. Martin.  The 90-odd mile sail from Antigua on Wednesday was delightful.  We averaged a little over six knots in winds of about 10 knots, with calm seas.  It just doesn't get much better.  We spent a night anchored outside the lagoon, waiting for the 9:30 a.m. drawbridge on the Dutch side, and made our way to our usual spot, just over the French border.  The anchor's down, the awning is up, and our high-speed Internet service is reactivated.  We're here! 

We spent a hectic day Thursday, clearing in with customs, getting the Internet service turned back on, and buying and installing a new shower in the head.  Our old one has been leaking and making a mess for several months, but we replaced it with a new showerhead and faucet.  Typically, we had to do a little modification to the fixture.  Nothing is easy on a 30-year-old boat.  Friday has been a rainy day, and we postponed all of our planned shore-side activities.  Rest seemed more attractive than a wet trip to drop off our laundry and go shopping, so we've had time to catch up on email and update the blog. 

We have had fine sailing all the way up from Grenada this year, in spite of the strange weather.  We didn’t have any pressing schedule commitments, so we were able to pick our sailing days.  That does make a difference.  For the past few years, we have always had some compelling need to get to St. Martin quickly.  Last year, it was to order and install the new engine.  This year, we don't have any major projects, so our plan is to catch up on routine maintenance, and Bud will get busy writing Bluewater Vengeance soon.

Resting in Antigua

Deshaises, Guadeloupe, F.W.I.

We're in Antigua, resting from four days of great sailing on the way up from St. Lucia.  There was good wind for the trip, with one or two small storms each day to keep us on our toes and give us a little practice at dropping our big Yankee jib in a hurry.  We blew out a panel in it a couple of years ago in a squall, and we couldn't remember to get it fixed.  Most of the time, we fly our smaller Yankee in conjunction with our staysail.  With one reef in the mainsail, that's the right combination for the normal 15 to 20 knot winds that we have in the islands.  While we were in St. Lucia, we saw a forecast for lighter winds and remembered to take the sail in to the loft  for repairs.  It was nice to have it back in the 12 knot winds we had for most of the trip.

The last day, from Deshaises, Guadeloupe to Jolly Harbour, Antigua, we had a forecast for 20 knots on the beam, so we changed down to the smaller Yankee, surprised again at how much easier it is to handle.  The wind came as forecast, and the seas were sloppy, but we had a 7 hour trip over the 52 nautical miles.  We averaged over 7 knots, pushing the boat at hull speed the whole time.  Glad we weren't trying to fly  the big sail.

There's a trough affecting our weather at the moment, with winds out of the southeast.  That would certainly push us to St. Martin, but we would be dead downwind the whole time -- not our favorite point of sail, especially in sloppy seas.  Besides, our friends Kim and Sandi on Kewaydin are stranded here with engine trouble, so we're enjoying their company while they wait for parts.  We'll probably leave for St. Martin sometime next week.

Happy Thanksgiving!

You know you've been in one place too long when the excursion boats add you to their itinerary.  I looked out the port the other day and saw the folks along the rail of this schooner with their cameras, making pictures of the little boat.  That would be Play Actor, I think.  We have been here in St. Lucia for a little over two weeks, and we are still enjoying it.  We always do -- Rodney Bay is a favorite spot of ours.  It's a good anchorage with attractive scenery and clean water in which to swim.  There's a lot of water-toy activity with people from the resorts capsizing their Hobie cats and paddling their kayaks, so we can drink our coffee in the shady cockpit and watch the tourists change color from pasty white to hot pink, right before our eyes.  At just 12 degrees above the equator, the attenuation of UV by the atmosphere is much less than at higher latitudes, because the rays have a much shorter trip through the air.  It doesn't seem any brighter or hotter, -- in fact, it's in the low 80's here -- but exposed skin will burn in minutes.  We're planning on leaving later this week.

We've been watching the weather, waiting for a few days of good breeze to take us to Antigua, and then on to St. Martin.  The low pressure system that's east of Bermuda has been blocking the trade winds for the last few days, otherwise we would have left already.  We went grocery shopping several days ago to provision for the trip,  and now we've eaten our stock.  It's time to go shopping again.  We tried it yesterday, but discovered that it was really time to rebuild the carburetor on the outboard instead.  That done, we're off to the grocery store this morning, with an eye toward a Thursday morning departure.

We'll probably spend Thanksgiving Day at sea.  Think of us when you're eating your turkey -- we'll probably be eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, unless the fish happen to be running.  If we get lucky with a tuna or mahi-mahi, we'll steam some rice and have sashimi in the cockpit.  Happy Thanksgiving.

Changes in Latitude



Port Egmont, Grenada

It's that time of year again.  Fall is in the air, even in the tropics.  It's cool enough at night so that we're often sleeping under a sheet.  Hurricane season has fizzled out, and we're actually sailing again.  We've moved from 12 degrees north all the way up to 14 degrees -- about 120 miles.

The beach at Pigeon Island, St. Lucia

We've been in St. Lucia for about a week now, enjoying the change of scenery.  We're anchored right off the beach, near a couple of big resorts.  We enjoy sitting in the cockpit in the shade, watching the folks from Sandals sail by on the Hobie cats, or paddle by in their Kayaks.  We manage to ignore the occasional jet ski -- they're like mosquitoes, only bigger.  We already miss the peace and quiet of Grenada, but we're excited at the prospect of sailing again.  We'll be here a few more days, and then we'll move on.

We have about five days of sailing time between here and St. Martin, where we'll settle for a couple of months and stock up on the things that we can't get in the islands farther south.  We'll do a few minor repairs -- no new engine this winter -- where it's easy to get parts.  St. Martin is also one of the few places we've found in this part of the world where we can get fresh pecans, that staple in a southern boy's diet.  We always leave there with a few pounds stashed away to mix in our breakfast cereal.

Take a Winter Vacation for Free. Go to the Dentist.

We're starting to think about heading north for the winter.  How's that sound to you folks who don't live in the tropics?  Hurricane season is almost behind us.  If it will just stop raining long enough, we'll stock the larder, fill up with diesel, shake out the sails, and head north, up to where it's cooler, like St. Martin, maybe?  That's far enough.  We don't want to find cold weather.

Part of our pre-departure routine is a visit to the dentist, which we did yesterday, in the pouring rain.  We've found dental care to be a real bargain down here.  After trying it out in several places, we've found a lady we like, here in Grenada.  She studied in England, and her partner in the practice studied in the U. S.  They both grew up in Grenada, and when they finished school, they decided to come back and open a practice with all of the latest equipment.  They've been at it for a couple of years, now, and they're thriving.

Yesterday, we both had a check-up and cleaning, with x-rays.  Bud had a minor filling done, as well.  The total charge, for both of us combined?  About $90, U. S.  Who needs dental insurance?  Back when we had it, our share of the cost for similar services was more than that, and that was over 10 years ago.

We've had similar experiences with medical care.   Want a vacation in a tropical paradise this winter?  Come down for your dental work.  You'll save enough over what it costs in the States to pay for the trip.

iPhones, iPods, and Yacht Provisioning

Grocery shopping takes a lot more time in this cruising life than it did when we lived ashore.  When non-cruisers ask us what we do all day to stay busy, provisioning is high on the list, and only partly for the reasons mentioned in our last post.  It is harder for us to get to the grocery store than it was when we lived on dirt, but there are other differences.

Dungda de Islan', where we live, we usually have to visit several stores, and perhaps an open air market or two, to find what we need for the week (or month, depending on our plans.)  Store stocks aren't replenished as often, and what's available is largely dependent on what was on the last ship.  It's quite different from getting in the car, going to the nearest supermarket, and buying everything on your list.  Oh, sure, you might want to shop price, but that's an option, not a necessity.  Here, one grocery store may have cornered the market on peanut butter.  Invariably, a competitor has all of the jelly in town.  Or maybe this week, everybody has peanut butter, but all of the jelly went to the next island to the north.  We've developed a maxim that we call "the rule of the islands."  It's simple:  If you see it and you think you might want it, buy it, right now.  If you go back later, it will be "finished," as they say down here, or sold out as we used to say.  And there may well never be a next shipment.
Besides availability, there's the problem of where to put everything when we get home to the boat. We have a lot of storage space, but it's spread over the entire vessel; a little locker here, space under the floorboards there, the cabinet concealed behind the settee cushions. You get the idea. When we were cruising out of the way places, we stored several months worth of food aboard. The last time we did that was several years ago, and we still find some of that stuff, every so often, in a forgotten corner. To avoid turning our provisions into science experiments, we've tried using lists, card files, spread sheets, you name it. We couldn't find a workable solution until recently.

We're now using a database management app on our iPod Touches.It’s called HanDBase, and it costs just a few dollars.It runs on all the magic iOS devices.It's straight forward to use, and we've developed databases for groceries, other consumables, and spare parts, all of which present the same acquisition and storage problems.

The screen shots are mostly self explanatory. The first one is the "default view," which is just a list of the items in our grocery database, with quantities on hand, quantity in each of several storage locations, target stock level, and a "Buy" quantity. The next screen is the "Need to Buy" view, which lists the only the items with a buy quantity of 1 or greater. That is the essence of our shopping list. We have 279 items in our grocery database, and 111 discrete storage locations; hence the need for an organized approach.

The last two shots show the details for an item record. This one happens to be coffee.

Because our iPod Touches go everywhere with us, the database is easily kept up to date. In fact, we keep recipes in another app called GoodReader, so when we're cooking, it's a matter of seconds to update the database as we use things. We always have the database available when we are shopping, so we know exactly what we need. There's space in each record for notes and favored brands, as well as typical prices, so if we find something that we aren't expecting, we can make an on the spot decision to buy or wait, knowing whether it would likely be cheaper in a different country. And, now that we've looked in all of those 111 storage locations, we aren't finding moldy surprises.

Just one more thing that we didn't think about when we were dirt dwellers