Week 48: St. Kitts & Nevis (30nm)

We packed a ton into this week, exploring St. Kitts and Nevis with two groups of visitors – Mark & Jacque (family friends of the Austs) followed by Tish & Obie (friends of Laura’s from MIT).

Captain’s Log

Note: from now, the Captain’s Log will always be written by the CES (‘Chief Executive Skipper’), Alec. But I may make a few editors notes on my weeks!

31^st Mar: Light wind promised a perfect introduction to sailing for Mark and Jacque, and so after grabbing some supplies we headed out for the short hop down to Ballast Bay towards the southern end of St Kitts. It was a really pleasurable cruise that had us arriving just in time for lunch, and also just before some grey clouds started to grace the horizon; “don’t worry, rain showers in the Caribbean are rare and never last long” Laura reassured our guests… and then the heavens opened and it rained almost constantly for 12 hours! We were still able to fit in a quick coffee stop ashore and also test out the new BBQ (which we informed our guests was a very British experience given the weather), but Laura was made to promise to avoid any further weather predictions (editor’s note: I promise!) given her current relationship with the weather gods was clearly in a bad place :).

1^st Apr: We set off the next day towards Nevis after a hearty breakfast of Jacque’s french toast, and made good time as the wind picked up enough to get Serenity blasting up to 7 knots. Mark practised his boat handling skills as we picked up our mooring buoy, and then we enjoyed some swimming and snorkelling in the classically clear Caribbean waters. We took TJ into shore and settled down to enjoy Nevis’ most famous beach (Pinneys), returning just before sunset for a dinner of Laura’s ‘what’s in the pan’ jambalaya.

2^nd Apr: As fitted our guests’ increasing familiarity with sailing, the wind increased once again to an exciting 15-20 knots on the beam, which allowed us a ripping sail under genoa alone back to St Kitts. On the way, we hooked a really good-sized (editor’s note: enormous) king mackerel, who put up a good fight and made us grateful we had some extra hands on board to help bring him in and prep him (see Story of the Week below for the video!). We got over 3kg of fillets and enjoyed fried fish sandwiches for lunch, which helped offset our grief at the loss of one of our most successful lures in the process (RIP James Lang). We then spent the afternoon sharing our favourite St. Kitts bay with our guests, which culminated in some delicious burgers at the bay’s restaurant, Salt Plage, just as the sun was going down. (See Parting Thoughts below for our video highlights of this wonderful bay.)

3^rd Apr: We said our goodbyes to Mark and Jacque after an action-packed four days at Basseterre where we originally collected them, and then gave Serenity a quick turnaround for our next guests who were arriving later in the day. When Tish (one of Laura’s closest MIT friends) and her husband Obie arrived, they seemed to have a lot of bags given they were only staying 4 days, but we discovered this was mainly due to the quantity of snack presents they had brought us (win!!). It was Tish’s birthday, so we celebrated aboard with a fish tacos and cake and caught up on what had been going on in our lives since we last saw them for their wedding a year and a half ago.

4^th Apr: With the weather looking a bit blustery, we decided to rent a car and see some of the rest of St Kitts, and drove round to the north side of the island where there was a hiking trail up Mt. Liamuiga. Whilst the presence of substantial numbers of cruise ship groups making the descent was initially reassuring on the level of difficulty, we discovered that the punishing 3 hour ascent was indeed a tough ask and were suitably impressed by how those before us had appeared to make it look so easy. We rolled back down the mountain in desperate need of cold drinks and found a cute seaside bar called Arthur’s that fit the bill perfectly before we crawled back to Serenity for pizzas and some very deep sleep.

5^th Apr: The Basseterre ‘Valu’ supermarket was so low cost they couldn’t even afford to spell their name fully, but they had a great range of produce available and we completed our shop in a record time with Obie and Tish’s help. We then sailed over to our favourite spot, Whitehouse Bay (our 3rd visit), and had another fun afternoon exploring the bay underwater, including a wreck we had missed on our previous visits! Some sundowners at Salt Plage with a steel band playing was an unexpected surprise and we then finished with BBQ chicken and Settlers of Catan – it was a day that recharged the soul and the spirit. (Again, check out Parting Thoughts for the video!)

6^th Apr: Our final day with Tish and Obie was spent on or around the water in a good mix of floating and snorkelling. The other major win for the day was Laura’s acquisition of a new paddleboard from a nice man in the nearby beach shack (who turned out to also be a body builder and have placed 3rd in Mr. Caribbean last year!) – it needs some repairs, but is non-inflatable so leaks should no longer be a problem. A final meal at Salt Plage with our guests was the perfect way to finish their stay with us, and after such a busy week aboard Serenity, Laura and I realised it would be strange to be just the two of us again.

STORY(S) OF THE WEEK: A HIGHLIGHT REEL

This week was pretty epic, with not one but two sets of visitors and a hugely varied itinerary. There were too many favourite stories to choose from, so I’ll just do a bit of a highlight reel :).

First up on Serenity this were Mark and his wonderful wife Jacque. Mark (who I will forever just call “Coach”), is a hometown hero and dear friend of my family’s. He coached my high school volleyball team (my sister-in-law also played for Mark, and perhaps one day my niece will too!), is one of the kindest and most generous people you will ever meet, and has been a hugely positive influence in my life. When I heard he liked boating, I had to invite him aboard! A few of my favourite moments from their stay:

• Discovering my next career will not be in weather forecasting. Turns out the weather gods don’t like it if you get cocky, and I was punished for my flippant comments about frequency of precipitation with a solid afternoon and night of rain. Lesson learned, and luckily everyone saw the funny side!
• I was delighted to discover that I am taller than I think. Coach was telling me about some of the players he’s got coming up next year and mentioned, “I’ve got my next Laura Aust on the team. … She’s about 6’2″, African American and skinny as a bean pole.” I of course am taking this quote entirely out of context (the resemblance is actually down to our shared nerdiness), but I enjoyed a chuckle to myself, “well, that does sound like me!”
• We caught a monster! In our top five biggest catches, this king mackerel didn’t come in without a major fight. Mark really enjoys fishing, so it was extra good fun to share the experience with him.

• Sunset over Whitehouse Bay with a cocktail at Salt Plage might just be heaven. Though the price is a risky dinghy ride home trying to avoid attacks from the huge schools of ballyhoo. On this particular occasion, the ballyhoo were so freaked out by the combination of engine noise and torch light that they started hurling themselves at us and the dinghy. The constant barrage only abated when we finally made it back to the boat. Alec was of course delighted as many had ended up in the dinghy with us which would make great bait for future fishing!

We waved goodbye to Mark and Jacque after four lovely days, then did a little bit of a tidy, and a few hours later Obie and Tish arrived. Tish and I were in both the same sorority and major at MIT, and even lived together for a little while. She’s one of my dearest friends, and I hadn’t had a chance to see her since her wedding so was extra pumped that she and her husband made the trip! A few top snippets from their visit:

• Tish and Obie brought ALL the snacks. Apparently bringing lots of snacks is a theme amongst my friends! You may recall Snackbox, another of my close friends from college, who visited us in Spain. This is an excellent trait in friends. Tish and Obie very kindly indulged us with heaps of our favourites, which we can’t often find out here (Reese’s Pieces and oatmeal raisin cookies!!) and a pile of other wonderful delights! We are currently plowing through them at a rate of knots and are very happy campers :)!

• We apparently we have a little bit of a curse – whenever we’ve hiked with Tish, trails marked “moderate” have always turned out to be “expert.” I hope she’s not starting to think we are playing pranks on her! Our last hiking extravaganza together was in Oman, where we set out on a “trail” (there was a route on the map, but no trodden trail to speak of) that was “marked” by little painted Omani flags on the rocks every few hundred yards. We played the game “find the flag” for hours before realising we might not make it back before dark and high-tailing it back down the mountain. That trip was also where Tish and I discovered we share a strange, hiking-induced affliction. Our fingers get extremely puffy, which makes dexterity a challenge. On our Oman trip, we were reduced to hiking with our hands held above our heads in an attempt to coax the swelling down (I don’t remember it being effective…). This time, we definitely had a trail, but, much like in Oman, it was most definitely not moderate and absolutely took far longer than the 2 hours advertised. We did just manage to scramble to the top this time, but our legs (and fingers) were not happy with us when we finished!

• Our rental car had the windshield wiper controls in place where one would usually find the indicator controls. Alec was piloting for the day (St. Kitts drive on the left) and without fail turned on the windshield wipers at every single intersection in an attempt to indicate. It was a wonderful little side plot on the day and it makes me smile just thinking about it.
• We had the world’s slowest ever game of Catan. You know its bad when a group that loves board games start asking each other… “how do we make this game end?” But after a while things finally started moving a bit more speedily and we had a great time trying to outwit / out-trade each other. I am proud to say that I won (by the skin of my teeth), but not without a certain amount of lucky rolling!
• Getting out the inflatables for the first time in months for some blissful flotation off the back of the boat. When its just the two of us, we tend not to make as much of an effort with water toys, but a couple of days in a fabulous bay with friends? Oh yeah – that’s the time! The pineapple, donut and orange chair all made appearances and we had several spectacular floating sessions. During one we even caught sight of an eagle ray. Happy days!!

Parting thoughts: what makes a great anchorage?

St. Kitts’ Whitehouse Bay soared pretty much immediately into our top five favourite bays from the first time we dropped the hook there. Trying to pin down exactly why led me to think a bit more critically about what makes a great anchorage. Here are my conclusions – the Five Elements of a Great Anchorage, and a video ode to this wonderful bay that ticks all the boxes!

1. Conditions for the boat: an ideal spot is well protected from swell with low boat traffic (i.e. not much wake) so the water is calm and we don’t rock too much. There is enough wind to hold the boat stable (but not so much to make it unpleasant to sit on deck), and the bottom is good holding for the anchor. The bay is big enough that visitors don’t have to anchor too close together.
2. Water & wildlife: the water is clean and clear, with lots of life. Extra credit for nearby reefs or other underwater sights for good snorkelling. Major bonus points for turtles, rays or other unusual creatures.
3. Surrounding area: a great beach and pretty surroundings really boost the appeal of an anchorage. We especially like a spot where you can explore the land and its fairly wild. Fab sunset views are another plus.
4. Amenities on shore: good mobile phone signal is a must. A bar or restaurant nearby is great for an alternative hang out spot and a dinner / lunch option. Ideal if they have good wifi and cheap beers, and a dinghy dock! Live music is nice, especially if they don’t blast it too late into the evening (we like to sleep!).
5. Neighbourhood: we love a bay that is only frequented by cruisers (no charter boats, daytrippers or big cruise ships – all of which have a habit of ruining an ambience). In particular, its nice to find a place that’s off the beaten track enough where there are only a few boats, as it creates a nice camaraderie and we often meet really lovely people.