Pics from the Quill

This a rock crab. How these guys get themselves and their shells 1200 feet above sea level I don't know but I saw at least six of them on the way up.










These two are pictures of the crater at the top. The photos do not do it justice but I was sitting about 1900 feet up, looking across the top of the crater that was probably 200 to 300 feet deep. All along the inside walls and across the bottom is a micro rainforest.

Statia and The Quill

Yesterday I sailed from Nevis to Statia. It's about 33 miles. Started off as a broad reach in light air in the lee of St. Kitt's and ended up as a screaming beam reach as I cross the 10 miles of open water between St. Kitt's and Statia. I have already written about Statia so I won't repeat any of that.

This morning I hiked The Quill. The Quill is an extinct volcano with the cone still fully intact. It is just over 1900 feet high and the hike to the crater edge and back took three and a half hours. I originally planned to hike down into the crater but the trip up made me realize what an out of shape fat boy I have become and decided to save it for another time. Once I get my computer online I will post a few pictures.

The most amazing thing were the rock crabs. There are crabs that live in shells about the size of a child's fist all the way up the mountain. They live there and move around through the underbrush. I did not know that crabs lived on mountains.

Nevis

Nevis has to be the most beautiful place I have visited so far. It's too bad that it took me this long to get here and I have such a short time to spend. The sail from Antigua took about 8 hours. I was off the mooring in Jolly Harbour at 0630 and secure here at 1630. It was downwind all the way with five gybes (should have been three) with the breeze steady at 15 knots and 2 to 3 meter swells.

(Nevis from the east)

Check in with customs and immigration was a breeze even though I had to talk to three different people in three different places.

Charlestown is a small city and the only city on the island. By 1100 this morning I had been to the beach, shopped at an open fruit and vegetable market, and been to a Jamaican bakery. Since my day was pretty much done, a beach walk was in order for the afternoon. Accompanied by an obligatory Carib beer or two...it was St. Pat's day afterall. Pinneys Beach runs for about 3 miles. It looks like it was once fabulous but hurricane Omar has taken down most of the palm trees that used to line it and for the time being, shut down the Four Seasons resort. No matter, with the ancient volcano to the east, and the ocean to the west, it is simply perfect.

I plan to spend one more day here then head to Statia to deal with some unfinished business. There is an extinct volcano there that needs to be hiked.

Nevis it is

Leaving for Nevis at first light tomorrow. The weather looks good for a great downwind romp with two and a half meter following seas. Despite all my earlier plans, this will be the first trip of any distance that I have done on my own.

Travel plans

Checked the latest forecast on Windguru.com and it says northeast wind and swells for at least the next five days. Once again, plans may be foiled by weather. There is no safe anchorage in Montserrat in swells from any direction that starts with north. I'll be checking it every day but unless something changes Montserrat may be out of the picture, just like Barbuda was. Oh well, just another reason to come back. If I don't get there it will be off to Nevis on Sunday. Stay tuned.

Heineken Regatta

The Heineken Regatta was a very last second decision. When I packed up a spare pair of shorts and a clean t-shirt I did not think to take my camera, so sorry, no pics. I left Antigua not sure if I had a boat to sail on or a place to stay so I was really not sure what to expect. Sadly I arrived on Friday afternoon to find that Sandy, Mark, Max et al had been involved in a collision and were out of the regatta.

The weather was very unusual with 20 to 30 knots out of the north. I spent 2 months in St. Maarten and never saw wind straight from the north. There were two dismastings on the first day and at least one more on the second.

Max and I met and english guy named Steve on the dock on Friday morning looking for crew. We weren't looking for a boat to sail on a that time but the opportunity came up and who am I to say no to something fun. Three minutes later we were in a tender heading to his chartered Sunsail 39. Tubby little boat with not much keep. We were DFL on the first day, partly because the course was not clear and we sailed an extra couple of miles to a windward mark we did not have to round. Middle of the fleet on the last day.

The hightlight of the regatta was being on the beach Sunday night watching the Wailers (yes those Wailers) play until two in the morning and playing in the surf.

Many thanks to Tamara of Ric's for giving up some space on her couch.

Changes and more changes

The plans to sail to Montserrat at the end of February got interupted by some good old fashioned fun. I rescheduled everything for last Thursday. Then I got the weather forecast. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday showed winds from the north with speeds as much at 22 knots and swells from the north as high at 4 metres. Sadly Montserrat, Nevis, and Statia have no really decent anchorages and none at all when the swell rolls from the north. So, rather than hang out in Antigua by myself, I took a cab to the airport, jumped on a plane, and flew to St. Maarten to see Max again and race in the Heineken Regatta. Ended up sailing on a 39 foot charter boat with a crew from pretty much every corner of the world. Very fun.