The last days of Helen Mary Gee

The promised update on the loss of Helen Mary Gee

We were waiting for a good forecast to sail the 120 odd miles from BVI to St Kitts.  We cleared out of Customs and Immigration at Sopers Hole on Wednesday 1st April, with a forecast of NE 14 to 18 knots.  That translates to anything up to 25 miles per hour winds and the wind blowing anywhere but from the northeast.  To get the best angle to the wind for our night sail we went to the Northern most part of BVI at Virgin Gorda and picked up a buoy in Gorda Sound so that we could get ourselves and the boat ready for the night sail.  It had been a lovely sail and I kept hold of the helm for most of it.

Helen at the helm

We left at 6 pm with enough day light to round Richard Branson’s Neckar Island and its reefs and to lay our course for St Kitts.  The wind set in at 20 knots true and we reefed down suitably to set us up for the night’s cruise.  The moon came up lighting the seas.  Helen prefers a night sail with a bit of moonlight.  It seems to make it somewhat friendlier.  We were eating up the miles at 8 knots over the water.  The wind was gusting to 23 knots and blew occasionally from NE in the gusts.  To make life interesting the wind would creep round to blow from south of east with a lumpy northwesterly swell.  The holes we met in the ocean were knocking us back to 6 knots over the ground and this scenario continued throughout the night.

At around 2.20 with Helen on the helm, the boat hit something hard and veered to starboard.  Helen hit the wheel, bending it.  I was sleeping in the cockpit and I was unceremoniously dumped on the floor hitting my chin hard as I went.   The boat came to a temporary halt.  Going below I checked that all was well and could not see anything wrong.  At around 3.30 the wind instruments were playing up and I, suffering with nausea resulting from the hard knock I had taken to my face, cursed and went below to see what was causing the problem.  Reaching the bottom of the companionway steps, my foot splashed into water.  Seawater was coming in from somewhere and had covered the keel stepped mast electrics.

I went into the forward cabin and I could see water coming out of the base of the forward double berth.  Not able to strip out the berth I stuffed cushions in to the area in an attempt to slow water ingress.    I had no idea the nature or extent of the damage as whatever had happened was hidden by the black tank installation.  The nearest land lay ahead and on a night where we had cruise liners, fishing boats and yachts in all directions, not one light could be seen.  The radio was out because of the water in the cabling and so we were on our own until we could see another ship or get nearer to Saba to be able to raise someone on the hand held.

Because of our ocean travelling the sole boards on HMG were screwed down.  There were however a couple of small inspection hatches.  You would think that water when entering a boat gently fills it.  That is not so.  The water inside the boat mirrors the ocean wave pattern and I had the frightening sight of water squirting out of the holes where the inspection hatches had been.  Had the floors not been retained, in the state I was in, I doubt if I could have moved as easily around the boat, if at all.

I backed up the two electric pumps with the hand bilge pump, in between bouts of seasickness.  Helen continued to helm. The water was now up to the top of the batteries.  The chance of making landfall to get HMG lifted was now very slim and we had to come to terms with that fact and prepare to abandon ship.

Helen went below to put a few things into a bag and then to get the emergency kit together and get our grab bag.  Whenever we make a long passage we always have our grab bag together to make sure that we have our passports, credit cards, money etc in the event of accidents.  We learned the sense of this some years before when friends of ours lost their boat off the coast of Tobago.  We saw the difficulties they faced when they were shipwrecked with absolutely nothing for survival either at sea or when they fortunately reached land.

Between 5.30 and 6.00 a.m. I launched the life raft from its bracket on the stern.  Immediately it went off down wind and tide, firing itself automatically.   Helen had only full use of one arm and in waterproofs (it had rained during the night and it was quite cold) she would not have been able to swim to the life raft unaided.  Any mistakes and we could miss the raft altogether.

We had stored the dinghy on the foredeck with the outboard in situ.  The dinghy is lifted with a central harness hoist from a spare halyard.  I decided to launch the dinghy and as the bow was now only a foot or so out of the water it took no time at all to do this.

I got into the dinghy and Helen passed me the 2 flare packs, the small bag with water, biscuits and a change of clothes for each of us and the waterproof grab bag, the chart, handheld radio and GPS and lastly the EPIRB (Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon) which I switched on. Helen with the good sense that you women have, had refused point blank to abandon the boat without her  deck sandals explaining quite forcibly “I am not walking around the shops to buy clothes in sailing boots and shorts”    I, fearing for her safety whilst trying to find these,  put my “boot” down.  Helen explained that they were underneath the spray hood so I let her get them before we left HMG.  Helen having got hers, called out to me in that way that only you women can “would you like yours?”  Tongue firmly in cheek I said yes please, seeing the sense of the scenario and also not wanting to look a plank.

I held onto HMG whilst Helen climbed down and we then dropped back to the stern grabbing onto the line to the life raft.  We floated to it.  Clipping on to the raft we cut the line to the boat.  It seemed that the boat was sailing away although water logged.  In fact we were drifting away from it in the direction of Venezuela, hundreds of miles away.

I let off a flare and called a Mayday on the hand held VHF.  Saba was disappearing in the wrong direction.  I decided to start the outboard engine and realised that the kill cord was still in the chart table.  So using bits of rope I bodged up a kill cord and started the engine, towing the life raft back towards the boat which was now about a quarter of a mile or so away.   The 5 hp outboard engine was not man enough in the seas to tow the raft so we let it go.  That was a hard decision to make, as it seemed we were losing one of our chances of survival, but there really was no choice.   We then engined towards Saba.

We recovered our lost ground and got back along side HMG.  She was by then underwater up to her mast and the waves were washing over her up to the spray hood.  We had to stay with her in her fight to survive, she had been our home for the past two years and to leave her would have seemed disloyal.     Once the water passed the spray hood it made its way  down the main hatch.   Slowly the mast rocked forward dipping over further and further.  The stern rose higher out of the water and the 22-meter mast with main sail still set disappeared.  She stayed there like a duck feeding with her stern in the air and her rudder out of the water.  She hung on like this until the air trapped in the aft cabin was forced out and then she started her final voyage.  She held for a few more minutes just under the surface, her wind generator bent like a giant sunflower looking at the sea surface with the blades slowly turning before finally vanishing beneath the blue water of the Caribbean Sea.   Cushions and a fender or two were all that was left to mark her journey to the bottom some 1300 to 1400 meters below.

Re-gaining courage we headed towards Saba.  I let off another flare and put out another Mayday.  A few minutes later I repeated the Mayday.  The French Coastguard CROSAG picked it up.  I gave our position as 20 miles NW of Saba.  They asked what our problem was and I had to explain over and over that our boat had sunk and we were in a dinghy.  They wanted a better fix, which I was then able to give as the hand-held GPS had now found our position.  It turned out that another yacht, Dreamcatcher of Jersey had also heard our Mayday and they were able to liaise with CROSAG to relay our messages.  Dreamcatcher was only 8 miles away and he confirmed that he was changing course to head for us.  He gave us his course and having worked out the reciprocal I headed the dinghy towards him.  Helen watched the horizon and at last spotted his white sails.  She let off another flare which went off to the left, totally in the wrong direction at which time an unprintable word formed in my mind. Then, as if planned and Helen insists that it was, the wind got hold of the parachute and drifted it into a direct line between Dreamcatcher and us making it easy for him to spot us.  We were after all a very small target being so low in the water in a very small boat in the still very lumpy sea.

The dinghy had taken on a fair amount of water and Helen’s memory of this is the water soaking her arms and annoying her.  Thankfully she had her back to the seas and was too cramped to turn around.  If she had she would probably have been wet somewhere else!!!!!!!!!!!!!   We met Dreamcatcher with great relief and eventually boarded her.  I then sat down with Helen with a cup of tea and we cried.

Roger and Lucyna, our rescuers from Dreamcatcher of Jersey made us very welcome.  When you visit someone else’s boat you wait for an invite to leave the cockpit or go down below.  To have all of our soaking wet gear taken from us including my sea boots (Lucyna is a brave girl) is uncomfortable as someone is throwing their home open to you and it is not an easy thing to accept.  The last thing you want is to make a mess.  We are so indebted to them for the kindness and compassion that they showed to us.

They were heading for Saba, St Kitts and then Antigua.  At that point all Helen and I wanted to do was plant our feet on terra ferma.  On our way to Saba the rescue helicopter turned up and hovered overhead talking to Roger on the radio and they did not leave until we waved to them to show that we were OK.  Then the most enormous coastguard vessel turned up circling  around the area where HMG went down.  The helicopter crew asked where the life raft was and we explained via Roger that it was drifting in the direction of St Croix/ Venezuela.   They headed off in that direction but we do not know if they found it.

We dropped the hook at Saba.  It took some hours, and I realised how daunting the task of getting to Saba would have been in the dinghy.  I would have undoubtedly run out of petrol and my arms would have dropped off from the rowing that would have ensued.   Roger spoke to Crosag and explained to them that we were staying on the yellow flag at anchor and leaving for St Kitts the next day.  The abiding memory for Helen at this time is looking out from the anchorage to the horizon where HMG sank knowing that our lovely boat was out there somewhere in a very cold and lonely place.  It’s silly really to put such emotional thoughts on a piece of fibre glass, stainless steel and alloy but we had spent so much time working on the boat, installing all of her systems to make her a self sufficient home and with all of the memories that went with it.  We felt somehow that we had deserted her.    As all cruisers will know, these are not off the peg boats. They are something that we have sweated over and regardless of whatever size or whatever value, we love and hate them at the same time and are very attached to them.

We left Saba making for St Kitts.  We had a really brisk sail thinking all the time of how HMG would have revelled in it.  Roger having extra experienced hands to help out was able to power the boat up easier and as his boat was charging through the ocean he had a devilish look in his eye whilst Lucyna was suggesting that it be slowed down.

Arriving at the harbour in Basseterre  St Kitts,  Roger radioed to find out if there was a berth available for the night.  He was politely told that they were full.  As we had to go into the marina for water we asked  the very pleasant young man who was dealing with us if  the harbour master was around.  This large as life Rasta man came over to us with his big smile and  I thought oh dear someone is trying to sell us something.  He was in fact the harbour master and a more delightful and helpful chap you could not wish to meet.  We explained our situation and he said that he had heard the VHF talk on the previous day.  He immediately found us a place in the marina and threw open all of the marina facilities free of charge with the exception of the berthing fees.  We stayed 2 nights in St Kitts and a more charming island you could not wish to find.

We arrived in the main square in  Basseterre.  This being a cruise ship town  you can buy any designer label that you like.  Not what we wanted or wished to afford.   We asked the most colourful, Rasta man bus driver who was parked by his bus in the street, “where do the locals buy clothes?”  Looking at us as if we had grown an extra head each he asked why.  Giving him a quick explanation of our need for clothing he immediately offered  the four of us an island tour and drinks from his bus, for free, to welcome us to dry land.    Helen and I were uncomfortable with his generosity and carefully declined his kind offer of the tour, but he insisted that we at least had a drink with him, which we did.

We went to the local travel agents just off the square to sort out the airline tickets.  They were the most unhelpful and obstructive people that I have had the misfortune to meet.  Even wanting to charge $30 each to phone Virgin on our behalf.  They had the opportunity of selling the flight to England and the additional charge for amending Helen’s ticket.   We left there almost in tears because of the extra stress.  The attitude totally floored me.  Even under normal circumstances businesses try to help customers.  Thankfully this was a one off experience on St Kitts.  We were now not in the mood for retail therapy so we had a lovely gentle lunch instead.

We then headed off to the port authority office where we had an appointment to explain our predicament.  Finding the officer in charge his manner came over as extremely brusque.  However he organised for and insisted that the coastguard attend his office to take full details.  We did not understand what was going on but having arranged it, he explained that the Coastguard wanted us to get a cab and go to the other side of the island and wait at their offices for the interview.

The two coast guard guys, a senior and a junior officer, turned up..  The junior was delegated to fill in the form under supervision.  He got to the bit about the boat’s value and then asked for a list of our possessions inside it.  That stumped me.  I explained to him imagine a three-bedroom house with everything that you would want in it. The problem was that  he had only a 6” by 8” box to list everything.   He settled on putting a value down.

Whilst we were talking to the coast guard the port captain who clearly decided that we were in his charge, arranged for a cab for us for the evening, at locals rate, and sent us to the other side of the island to a restaurant we would never have found. It would best be described as a cafeteria style eatery under a thatched roof.  It was on the edge of the beach, had a number of set menus to mix and match if the fancy took and the food was absolutely delicious.   The fish was from their own boats straight to the table and that was proved in the eating.   I thought the mix and match meant that you would have half of each portion, but no, you got the full monty piled high on the plate.  The place was buzzing with locals and I made a conscious memory to seek out the port captain and congratulate him on his choice.

I’m afraid folks that I cannot remember the name of the place but if you are in St Kitts go into the Port Authority’s Captains office and explain the scenario.  Hopefully he will remember us and where he sent us.   I am sure you will have a really good night.

Leaving St Kitts in the early hours, having thanked everyone. We made our way to Antigua.  To get out of the very awkward berth that we were in I used the trusty dinghy to push Roger’s stern round and then clambered on board.   Roger now wants a stern thruster.    You’ve guessed it, the last sail in the Caribbean was under engine with  wind on the nose.   We got into Antigua, moored the boat up and chilled out.

The next day we went off to St John.  A wonderful bustling Caribbean town.  We have never felt anything but safe here although others have been less fortunate recorded by the newsworthy stories of several killings.  (the Caribs put part of the blame for the rise in violent crime down to the US’s new policy of repatriating violent criminals back to their homeland.  Even if they were only two weeks old when they arrived in the US)

We found the Levi store was having a big sale.   With Caribbean women sizing being the norm, Helen found more choice in the teenage girl section.   The deal on the clothes was so good that we spent a little over $900 dollars in the store.  One of the two Cable and Wireless visa terminal computers was out of action and had been for several days and so it was cash only.   Having a restriction on our card of $500 per day we had to use both of our cards at the cash point.  No matter how hard we tried Helen’s card was rejected.  This was cranking the stress levels up again.  With what little credit remained on our phone we phoned England to have a chat with Nationwide.  They had decided that you cannot be in St Kitts one day and Antigua the next so they blocked the card and were going to send a fresh card to our home address in Dorset.

Helen tearfully explaining the situation to the young man, he went away and sought authorisation to re-establish the card which they did with two minutes to spare on the phone.  See they really can be helpful when they try.  They were protecting our interests from the scammers but were prepared to  change policy to help us.  Thank you Nationwide.

Clutching our money we went back to the Levi Store.  They were delighted with the sale but gently asked why we bought so much.  Giving a quick run down of why, they gave us more discount.  Thank you Levi Store Antigua.

Fancying a beer we went to the Irish Pub.  It was upstairs and the only Irish bit was the name, but he did as advertised sell the coldest beers, made us really welcome and gave us local info as to where we could get some replacement CDs

One of our favourite CDs, Marley’s music went down with the boat and we wanted to get a replacement, after all where better than in the Caribbean.  We were directed to Eddies shop in the rather questionable vendors mall, upstairs in a corner surrounded by the local unemployed or should it be unemployable.   We asked for directions to the shop.  Going in we noticed the starkness of the shelves and asking for Eddie we were told “not here”.  Why?  Explaining we wanted to replace our lost Marley music a beaming smile broke out and our man acknowledged being a cousin of Eddie.

He went to his CD collection on the Marley shelf and promptly started burning copies from his masters.   So we had 3 CDs for £2.00 each.  He left the shop for a few minutes to get us change but had his boys walk in to check  that we were not stealing anything.  I on the other hand was  more worried about them cutting off my left hand  to get my Rolex.

These lads I would guess very seldom come into contact with Europeans who have a wish to be friendly and after a few minutes ascertaining that we were not taking the mickey and actually enjoy their culture couldn’t be more friendly.

We met up with Roger whilst we were at the ATM,  trying to sort out the cash machine.  He was smiling, and happily announced to us that he and Lucyna were getting married and it was set for Wednesday 8th at 10 o’clock in the morning.  This was really wonderful.  They had arranged it before our scheduled departure time of 1 o’clock as they wanted us to be witnesses for them.  The wedding was to be on the boat and a flurry of activity ensued to get this organised.  The girls went shopping on Tuesday afternoon back to St John to buy the wedding dress.  It was also mentioned to Roger that he would have to find a wedding ring, something that seemed to have slipped his mind.

Traipsing around the shops plans had to be changed as the only dress they could find was a beautiful white dress whereas Lucyna wanted to be married in blue.  Lucyna was now pedicured, manicured and coiffured for the day.   We  let neighbouring boats know of the Wednesday morning plans and invited  them to come along and cheer.  One of the other boats donated a nice bottle of champagne which joined company with those which Roger and Lucyna had already ordered.

Wednesday morning arrived but no flowers (Bougainvillea promised by the hairdresser from his garden)  whilst the boat was made ready  my task was to chase down the flowers and collect the alcohol.  I bumped into the hairdresser who had the flowers which I took back to the boat and then headed back for the champagne.  I got back to the boat with minutes to spare. The Registrar was already on board waiting for the ceremony to start.   With the flowers arranged and the alcohol safely in my hands we were ready to rock and roll.    The ceremony went off without a hitch and it was lovely to see so many happy smiling faces.

We had been invited to a wedding breakfast with Roger and Lucyna at Melinis in Jolly Harbour Marina.  This  was a lovely gesture on their part.  This rolled into lunch time and fast approached the time for us to leave for the airport and our flights back to England.

Helen’s flight to England had been organised by a Travel Agent in Tortola.  Having had no success in St Kitts, I phoned and told them the situation with the loss of the boat and the need to get us both back to the UK.  Her flight had been scheduled for 22nd April as she was returning for the surgery on her arm..  The Agent  only has facility to take VISA with the customer present, over the counter but under the circumstances she said that we could send the money to her when we got back to England.  That meant that she was trusting me with about $900 on the strength of a phone call. I could not accept that as hers was only a very small business and the time delay would be too great.  I contacted Visa and they found a merchant in Tortolla who was prepared to process the payment through their terminal..  The Superyacht directory gave this travel agent a good write up and our experience of them as you can tell was exceptional.  A bit different to the other bunch in St Kitts.

We said our goodbyes. To Roger and Lucyna.  I think they were genuinely quite sad to see us go.  They are coming to stay with us on one of their trips to England.

It is a month and a half since we lost the boat and believe it or not we are tentatively making plans for the next one.  Sitting in our lovely warm house in Dorset I am starting to cut the grass with scissors.    Our neighbour’s son commented to his mother “don’t you think Sutton Poyntz will be a bit dull for them?”

The thing about cruising is this.  It doesn’t matter if you are frightened of water.  It doesn’t matter if you are frightened of storms, you can, with common sense and by adjusting your plans, keep out of danger.  For our part the joy of cruising is being together with your soul mate.  Every trip we make whether it be two hours or a three week sail, is that we meet new people on the way.

Somehow working a boat and going with nature is just exciting yet frightening.  Once you have enjoyed the cruising life and as long as you are fit enough I don’t think there is anything better.  It really doesn’t matter how much you pay for the boat as long as it is seaworthy and comfortable and you are proud of her.  We have met more Oyster owners waiting for bits for hybrid kit than people like Jeff, a lovely guy on Indian Summer, a single sailor, always going somewhere slowly.

Pictures of Helen Mary Gee on her last day in the British Virgin Islands

We have to say a big thank you to www.yachtshotsbvi.com  The pictures were taken by them whilst we were cruising the BVI.  The latest pictures were taken on 1st April, the day we left the BVI and the eve of our dreadful accident.   When they heard of our loss they very kindly supplied a selection of the pictures that are on their website.   If you are in the BVI and a young lady in an inflatable comes around taking pictures that will probably be yachtshotsbvi and the product is excellent.   Many thanks to them.

Watch this space.  Like the Phoenix we will rise from the ashes.  Until then please keep us posted on what you are doing and where you are.   We will meet again.

Paul and Helen
Helen Mary Gee

Antigua – April 2009

 

Well, following on from the last update we stayed in the British Virgin Islands for a further week or so, waiting for a suitable weather window for our trip down the islands to St Kitts.  It never really arrived but when the forecast was for gentle east – north east winds we decided to head out.    We anchored in Gorda Sound so that we could leave at about 6 pm to clear the islands during the last of the daylight on Wednesday 1^st April.

 

When we left Virgin Gorda it was a lovely evening with clear skies and the waxing moon was high in the sky.  Unfortunately by midnight (ish) the moon was hiding behind clouds before it finally set over the horizon.  From then on it became darker with the winds picking up and squalls passing over us.    What was a nice gentle sail was turning out to be the usual type of longer passage, getting from one place to another as quickly with as much comfort as possible.   So donned in our full foul weather gear we crashed through the waves.

 

Unfortunately at around 2.20-2.30 am when I was on watch we hit something in the water.   Paul had been sleeping in the cockpit and unfortunately hit his head when the boat stopped so suddenly.  This in turn made him dizzy and seasick.  At first there was no sign of anything untoward but as the night progressed, we realised that water was coming in from below the black tank area in the bow.  

 

It is too painful at this time to go into any further detail but as daylight approached in spite of the constant use of the various bilge and shower pumps, the water level was nearly above the batteries and trying to save her was no longer an option and we were forced to abandon Helen Mary Gee,  It felt that we were deserting her and I felt so bad.  We could see Saba rising high in the distance and from our position we knew we were about 20 miles north west  of the island.     Sitting with the dinghy and the liferaft we watched our beautiful home struggle to stay afloat, but she finally slipped beneath the deep blue water of the Caribbean Sea.

 

We had put out a Mayday without any response.  The ships radio had earlier stopped working probably because of the water over the wiring. Now in the dinghy we had only our handheld radio.  We thought that the nearer we got to Saba the more chance we had of being heard either by the coast guard or another ship.  The current and the wind were taking us further from the island and we had to make a decision to leave our fate to the dinghy, as the liferaft, without any means of propulsion was taking  us further away.  We therefore unclipped the liferaft painter and watched it drift quickly away.    We continued to call on the radio and fire flares in the hope that someone would hear us or see the flares but there was no other ship in sight.

 

Eventually we received a response to our continued Mayday calls from the French sea rescue service in St Martin.   Immediately after that another ship, Dreamcatcher of Jersey, answered the Mayday and offered assistance being only 8 miles due south of us.   We slowly motored towards them on the  reciprocal course to the one that they gave us.     Roger and Lucyna eventually picked us up and we are here to tell the tale, albeit a very painful one at this time.  We hope you will understand why we have kept this brief for the time being.   We were invited to remain on their boat for as long as we needed and they made us extremely welcome and we thank them from the bottom of our hearts.

 

One bright note however, Roger and Lucyna suddenly announced on Monday 6^th this that they were getting married.   Hasty arrangements were made and Paul and I were asked to be their witnesses.    The arrangements certainly occupied our minds and hands and I can report that on Wednesday 8^th April the civil ceremony took place on their boat in Jolly Harbour marina, Antigua.  I have attached two happy pictures to record the day.  The four of us enjoyed a wonderful wedding breakfast, followed by our hasty exit for the airport.

The happy couple

 

 

 

The four of us

We are now back in the UK and will be returning home in the next few days.  Eventually we will prepare a full account of what happened that night.  To all of the friends that we have met on the way please stay in touch as we want to hear your tales.  If you need crew for a longer passage we are happy to help out and the invitation for you to come to the UK and stay with us still holds.  

 

Until we meet again I will sign off the adventures of Helen Mary Gee with sadness. 

 

 

 

Helen and Paul

Helen Mary Gee

Norman Island – Sunday March 15th

 

Sorry for the long delay in updating.  We have not had the benefit of internet connections which will be evident as you read on.  Yes we are still alive and well and enjoying our time in the Caribbean although the weather is proving problematic in some ways.  They still refer to the high winds that we have periodically as “the Christmas Winds” which isn’t bad as it is almost Easter.    

 

Helen Mary Gee is now back in the water.  Repairs were finished within 8 days and we were launched on 23^rd February.  It was good to get out of the dock. 

 

We spent a couple of days in Little Harbour Peter Island to get her back together again.  Lord Chubb (the lock man)  owned land on the point of the harbour where he had what was undoubtedly a beautiful house overlooking the bays.  Now unfortunately it is no more than a crumbling mess being eaten by the ravages of time and the termites.  We last saw it in May 2001 when its grandeur was still evident in the sanitary fittings and tiled walls, but 8 years and a certain amount of vandalism has seen all of that disappear.   

 

On the afternoon of 25^th February we sailed from Road Town Tortolla to St John in the US Virgin Islands.    We decided it was time to try to find our old mates Captain Bill and Patty, who we met in Trinidad last November.  Two thirds of St John has been given over to a National Park and that is why it is one of the most photographed islands, used in advertising literature for the area.  Anchoring is prohibited in many places but mooring buoys are $15 per night instead of the $25 charged in the BVI.  Our first stop was Cruz Bay for checking into customs and immigration.  Unfortunately the water depth in Cruz Bay is about 3 meters and therefore having had our keel work done we erred on the side of caution and picked up a mooring buoy for the night and then took the dinghy in to the bay first thing the next morning.   

 

To cruise the USVI it is essential to have a valid US Visa.   Checking in was quite easy  but we were each spoken to by Customs and Border Protection Agents and given a lecture about  not dumping any of our garbage in their dumpsters, as other islands carried diseases which they did not have on their island, although it is only   seven miles away from Tortolla and they have constant ferries going between the two.  Garbage from any foodstuff already on board could infect the US garbage.    Maybe a little paranoid?

 

Next morning we headed out for Coral Bay where we had received reports on sightings of Captain Bill.  Funnily enough when we were in Nanny Cay having the work done on the boat we met a couple of guys in the bar from Coral Bay, St John who new Bill and Patty very well.  We had a wonderful sail in fact it was so good that we went straight passed Coral Bay (not intentionally) and it was only when I went down to check the navigation that I realised that we were heading back to Nanny Cay Tortolla, a circumnavigation of St John.  I have not lived that one down yet.    We got into Coral Bay an hour later.

 

Bill and Patty were pleased to see us and over the next 2 weeks we had a good time.  They were heading out for St Croix on Monday 2^nd March and they invited us to go with them.  Another couple of their friends were also going on their Beneteau 51.    They had left Coral Bay on the Saturday to do some fishing and so they  were leaving from Norman Island on Monday morning to meet us in Christiansted.  We left probably half an hour after Bill and Patty  and as every sailor who has raced will know that wonderful feeling when you  go past everyone.   A wonderful sail was topped only by the dolphins as they swam around the boat and then the most magnificent sight I have ever seen  just to our starboard quarter an enormous whale came oput of the water on a full breach slamming it’s  tail into the water.  This happened three times.  Unfortunately I was so surprised that I did not grab the camera quickly enough and all I got of the amazing creature was the tail just  disappearing into the water.  We radioed Bill as the whale was heading towards his boat and he was glad to make his first sighting.   These wild life cameramen must have lightning reactions.  

 

Bill and Patty have a house on St Croix and they have their own mooring in the harbour.  However for some reason they ran aground on a rock on the reef as they were taking up their mooring afther getting fuel.   For 8 hours they were high and dry.  There is only one high tide per day and that would be somewhere around 4 o’clock in the morning.   The marine police would not allow them to stay there waiting for the water and insisted that the marina pull them off.   The problem is that if you damage any of the reef especially if they can show that you have damaged an endangered species you can receive an enormous fine.   The marine police dive on the grounded boat to take photographs and then decided what (if any) damage has been sustained and they calculate the fine accordingly.   Bill is still waiting for the answer and it may be up to 2 to 3 months before he hears.  On top of that he had to pay for the marina launch to pull him off.    It will be a long time before he lives that one down in his home port!!

 

Unfortunately the weather let us down again whilst in St Croix.  35 knots of wind in the anchorage and there was very little shelter apart from the vast reef which kept the sea down, but did nothing to protect us from the wind.    The water was so rough in the anchorage on the Saturday that we could not even get off the boat.  It was not much better on the Sunday but we ventured over to Seven Sisters.  It was find on their boat but  getting from the dinghy onto it was awful.   The wash even took the twist grip of the outboard engine and that must have disappeared into the sea.

 

On Monday the wind had abated somewhat and Bill and Patty decided that they would leave for St John.  Patty should have been back to work on Saturday but she had managed to get someone to cover for her but she had to be back for the Tuesday.  We decided to stay for another day and then head out on the Tuesday and if the forecast was good we would head down the islands to St Kitts.  

 

We left on the Tuesday but the wind angle to St Kitts was so fine to the wind that it would have been an unpleasant night sail down the islands, which I did not fancy.  Me I’m a fair weather gal.     We set out course for St John as this would give us a better angle for the trip.    We arrived back in Coral Bay for the night.   It was after dark by the time we arrived as we did not leave St Croix until 2 in the afternoon in preparation for the night sail.  We like doing things the hard way, but the bright full moon made things  easier.

 

Paul was unhappy that once we went down the islands it would seem that the end of our cruising had come.   We decided that we would  go back to the BVI for a couple of weeks and take the next weather window down to Antigua.    This is what we have done and at the moment we are sitting in the Bight at Norman Island.  

 

It will probably be from there that I next update our adventures and so until then please continue to take care and we send our love to all of you.

 

Helen and Paul

Helen Mary Gee

 

 

 

 

 

BVI – 20th February, 2009

My how the weeks are passing.  We have been in the BVI for over three weeks now.  Today is Friday 20^th February and as you can always expect from us we have more stories to tell.

 

You may recall that I mentioned in my last update something big swimming around the boat whilst we were at anchor in Peter Island.  The next morning I looked in the beautiful clear blue water to see a shark under the boat, chasing the smaller unwary fishes.  It was not the shark making the noise more the small fishes trying to escape.  I decided to wait a while for a swim.

 

Paul and I both have had awful colds which we think we caught whilst in St Maarten.  We were laid low for about a week each.  There seems to be a lot of it around.  Anyway we are now fully recovered and back in form. 

 

We continue to meet lots of nice people on our travels.   The weather has been a bit unpredictable and we were held up on anchor in Trellis Bay for about four days whilst the winds blew up to 35 knots.  Quite unpleasant and while we had no time schedule we stayed put.  Monday 9^th February was full moon and in Trellis Bay  on each full moon throughout the year they hold a Full Moon Party on the beach.  They have a good selection of West Indian food, drinks and entertainment, which includes dancing Jumbies (men on stilts), setting fire to three caldrons in the sea and generally enjoying the excuse for a party.  It was not as warm as we have come to expect of a Caribbean evening.  The wind was cool and a little off putting to be standing on the beach.  It turned out that this was the start of the high winds and lower temperatures.  However compared to Britain we were in a heat wave.    

 

The full moon party is an attraction for the charterers and the anchorage was particularly full.  It has many mooring bouys but we found room to anchor as normal, as did many of the charterers once the bouys had been taken up.  It was an interesting time!   They even anchored in the restricted area regardless of the warnings that the restricted area was an extension of the airport runway and they keep this area clear as the DC3 planes sometimes had trouble taking off if there was no assisting wind and it was likely that they would hit the masts of any boats in that area.    That would have been interesting.

 

Once the winds subsided we left Trellis Bay and headed back to Peter Island  for a couple of days.  We met up with an American couple from New York City, Ken and June Eng.  They keep their boat in Tortola and come out for 10 days to 2 weeks at a time.   They were having trouble with the kicker on the boom and were clearly struggling.  Paul offered assistance much to their amazement.     They came over for a sundowner later that evening.  They suggested that we try Benures Bay, a quiet anchorage on Norman Island.  It was certainly their favourite place.   On Saturday morning (Valentines Day) we headed out to Benures Bay.   When we arrived,  there was only one other boat in the bay and you just would not believe the clarity of the water.   We dropped anchor and not only could you see the chain, you could see the anchor as it lay in the sand some 10 meters below us.  Amazing.    Loads of fishes to look at and my essential turtle. 

 

HMG on anchor in Benures Bay, Norman Island

We had anchored and then heard the bilge pump fire up twice in about half an hour.  Not what you want to hear.  Paul went to investigate and with a mirror and torch was able to see water running down the inside of the hull of the boat.  Not what you want to see.  He donned mask and snorkel and swam down to see if he could find the source of the leak and found much to our horror that we had a crack at the back of the keel, which had not been there before.   Looking back the damage was  obviously sustained when we ran hard aground in St Maarten and this must have cracked the fibre glass.    Expletives were expressed.   Why is it that when Paul has been so kind to help fellow cruisers, that such bad luck seems to follow us.  What with the dinghy and now this.     Well if it sinks we will not have the worry about getting it back to the Med!  

 

Whilst we were at anchor the leak diminished and what did come in the bilge pump handled well.  It was clearly when we were sailing that it opened up and we were taking on quite a lot of water.  On Monday we contacted our insurers to find out what to do and we were instructed to take her to Nanny Cay where there was a good guy who would fix it for us.    Hence we are now out of the water, sitting in a boat yard and have been since Tuesday morning.    The boat is being repaired and it is hoped that we will be back in the water by next weekend.     Could have been worse I suppose.    We are glad that we have good insurers – For those interested it is a Policy for RYA members  through Bishop Skinner.  They have been very helpful to us in our hours of need.

 

Returning to the subject of Benures Bay, our new friends Ken and June did not turn up in the bay as predicted and in amongst the panic of the potential sinking we did not really think much about it.   Today I have received an email from them, thanking Paul for his help and explaining their absence was due to Ken collapsing on board when going to anchor.  June motored the boat back to Tortolla,  where he was taken to hospital.  It seems that we was dehydrated and was quickly restored to health.  Unfortunately the last two days of their holiday were spent in the marina.  They are now back in New York City and all appears well.   Just goes to show that with our water ingress and his health you can never plan anything sailing.

 

Being in a marina you have a chance to meet new people.   Nanny Cay marina is first class.  We have the use of the facilities of the hotel resort whilst we are here.  You would not believe the showers or as they call them bathrooms.  They are self contained fully tiled rooms with a wetroom shower, granite surfaces, toilet, washbasin and teak and holly woodwork.  Absolutely stunning.   Never seen marina facilities like them before.  Ramsgate eat your heart out!

 

Anyway time is getting on.  And soon the yard will be empty of the workers for the weekend.   So I will leave you all for now and keep you posted as events progress. Paul has just returned from the chandlers with tins of varnish etc. and so it looks as if we will be busy over the next few days.   

 

Love to you all – bye for now and be safe

Helen and Paul

 

 

 

 

BVI – February 2009

Greetings to you all from the British Virgin Islands.   It is nice to receive comments from you our friends, mainly that you enjoy reading our exploits.  Long may it continue.

 

Today we have enjoyed beautiful warm (well hot really) sunshine, blue skies and crystal blue seas, so clear that you can see the fishes swimming around the boat.  Not of course meaning to rub it in or anything, particularly as we understand that snow has been falling in Blighty.   We all know that the sun has to shine somewhere and we can warranty that it is, here. 

 

In my last update I mentioned that Paul  had earned us a ride out on Lone Fox, the classic boat that he had spent much time on.   Come Friday morning we formed part of the crew.    The boat still had work to be done and so we left Simpson Bay a bit later than planned and arrived at Philipsburg at about 9.15, dropped the anchor on a bouy and set off for the start line.    A bit hectic but we made it and got a good start.  Lone Fox and it’s crew performed well and glad to say that we got line honours and were first on corrected time also.  The same result followed on Saturday and Sunday and therefore we won the regatta overall.   A good result.  If you want to see pictures go to the St Maarten Classic 2009 regatta web site and you will find them.    We have been invited back to race at Antigua Classic week in April.  I don’t know if I will be there but I am sure Paul will if he possibly can.  

 

During our stay in St Maarten we met some really nice people and we thank them for making us so welcome.    The yacht club where everyone met had its happy hour from 4.30 to 5.30 daily and the highlight of the day was to watch the big boats come through the gate as it was literally next door.  From there they moved onto the Soggy Dollar bar where the happy hours continued until 7 o’clock.  After that very few of them could walk through the bridge entrance let alone drive the boat.

 

Next on the calendar is the British Virgin Island.  As the weekend had been rather hectic we decided to relax on Monday and that we would leave late Tuesday night making landfall on Wednesday morning on the 90 mile journey.  You will probably not be surprised to hear that the journey was absolutely abysmal.  Horrid seas and strong winds.  Seems to be the story of our lives.  Paul seems to think it is me.  Probably he is right.  He normally is.    Anyway we arrived on Wednesday morning into Virgin Gorda.   Along side the boat a curious turtle poked his (or her) head out of the water on numerous occasions.  Absolutely fantastic.   Paul and Glyn went ashore to check into customs and pick up some bits and pieces whilst I stayed on the boat, keeping the turtle company, well just being lazy really.  

 

We stayed at that anchorage for Wednesday night and on Thursday morning retraced our steps back to Gorda Sound, a quieter anchorage the entrance of which is through a reef giving calm water, but still the inevitable cruise ships were at various locations.  At least we knew where not to go.  Friday morning we headed to the south of Virgin Gorda and spent a very nice day at the Baths.  In my opinion this is an unnamed wonder of the world.  The rock formations are truly amazing.    When we were here in 2001, the sun was at a different angle casting a more luminous colouring, but nevertheless it is a wonderful land/seascape. 

 

On Sunday we anchored in The Bite, Normal Island. Anyone who has been to the BVI will know that this is the home of Billy Bones and the Willie T (William Thornton to give it the correct title).   The cannon is still sounded at the start of happy hour but sadly it is no longer called Billy Bones but now it has been renamed to The Bite Pirate. Not a particularly memorable name.   I think Billy Bones must have been captured by the mutinous crew who now demand US$5, yes five dollars for a bottle of beer, which works out to about £6.75 per pint.  The other disappointing thing was Willie T.  Last time we were there, drunken revellers used to jump off the top deck into the clear waters below, to swim with the sharks and other large fish that frequent the waters.  This was stopped as it was considered a dangerous pastime.  I think they were afraid that you might frighten or hurt the sharks.    However sailing passed her we noticed that the Willy T has shrunk.  We were told that the original ship needed extensive repairs and was taken to a shipyard for the work which only lasted for a year. They took her to the anchorage that I am sitting in tonight, to sink as a dive site.   Unfortunately hurricane Omar which went through the Caribbean in October 2008, ripped her to pieces and she is no more.  

 

No one can say that we have not had to get through some adversities through this trip.  Another bared its ugly head on Saturday when a power boat went through the anchorage flat out and the bouncing of the stern of our boat crashed down on top of the float of the dinghy bursting it.  The four inch split looked irreparable.  With heads hung low, the challenge was how to get around this without the prohibitive cost of going into a marina as without the dinghy it is impossible to get to land.   A temporary repair was made with the kit that came with the dinghy, it has after all only had 7 months use, having bought it for our trip.  It lasted for short while but we needed something a little stronger.  Mr Magic eventually appears to have repaired it following the purchase of two dinghy repair kits.  Not to count our chickens, so to speak but we are hoping that it will survive the next few months at least.

 

I also have to report that Glyn has now left the boat.  Recently he lost his Grandmother who was particularly dear to him, and since her death he appeared to be in another world and things got to a point where it was best to go our separate ways.

  

I am now sitting in the cockpit in Great Harbour, Peter Island.  Contrary to it’s name it is quite a secluded deep water anchorage where, during the day you can hear the sound of the wild goats on the hill sides surrounding the bay.    The sun has gone down and it is dark and all you can hear now is the lapping of the waves on the nearby shore and the gentle tones of Enya.  Over the water I can see the numerous lights of Tortolla. 

 

A few minutes ago I had a bit of a fright when I heard something rather loud from the stern of the boat.   It sounded as if someone was close by, but we think it must have been a rather large fish swimming around the boat.  They do tell you not to swim at night as there are rather unfriendly things in the water. I have however survived another fright

 

We will continue to sail the BVI waters for a while and then head over to the US island of St John, where we hope to meet up with Captain “one and done” Bill on the yacht Seven Sisters, who we met in Trinidad in November. 

 

We hope that you are all well and looking forward to the Spring.  It will come eventually, so keep your chins up and don’t forget us.

 

Bye for now and be safe.

 

Helen and Paul

The Cathedral at The Baths, Virgin Gorda

St Maarten – 20th January 2009

 

 Well, it is almost two weeks since my last tale.  We are still well and warm and enjoying life.    We are still in the Lagoon at St Maarten (on the dutch side, hence the spelling).  The island is split into two, not literally,  one half being French territory and the other belonging to the Netherlands.    We were in St Maarten 10 years ago, and it is impossible to explain the change in a location.   I think I preferred it as it was.

 

The lagoon is surrounded by marinas owned mainly by IGY an American concern.  These are to cater for the big superyachts .  Now I know I showed you some pictures of the big yachts in Antigua, but this is something else.  I took a picture of Princess Mariana negotiating the lift bridge with what seemed inches to spare on either side.  Of course the helicopter on the stern of the boat did make it look impressive.  Mr Abramavich’s (Chelsea FC owner) motor yacht Polaris is too big to come into the lagoon and so he has to be content, or his crew do, in sitting outside in Simpson Bay.   Couldn’t you just cry for him. 

 

tight fit! and note the helicopter on the stern

 

Following the last update, we were contacted by Gary Brown, from the radio station, Island 92.  Gary has a one hour radio slot broadcasting live on Sunday morning and the cleaned up version is repeated on Monday evening and also broadcast in Bonaire, the sister radio station.   His is a programme aimed at the marine listeners.  Well Gary was attracted to the blog and to the comments on our experiences of cruising between 1997 to 2001 compared to those since our arrival back in the Caribbean in November 2007.  We were invited to be his guests in the studio.  We were more than happy to oblige and on Sunday morning we enjoyed the experience of live radio and as always happens with us, the gremlins that got into the system to make life just that little bit interesting.  Firstly one of his CD decks did not work and then the two microphones that we were using failed.   We therefore had to huddle around Gary’s mike to answer his questions.  At least that way he could transmit and I think it worked OK. 

 

If you are interested you can download the podcast at www.island92.com  or from Itunes I understand.  We have not yet heard the broadcast and so we are trying to download that.    You must admit that we are leading an exciting life. 

 

Our plan was to stay in St Maartan for a week and then move onto the BVI.   Last week a weather system came through with winds in the anchorage of up to 32 knots.  That’s quite windy and if you don’t have to go out in that type of weather it is best not to.    Having been at anchor for a week we were running low on water.  It is not possible to use the watermaker in the lagoon.  I think the water is so toxic that there are  mutant fish swimming under the boats, but you can’t seem them.  The plan was to up anchor and go into one of the fuel docks in the lagoon.  Now we have to have at least two and a half metres of water beneath us to float.  There are dredged channels to allow the superyachts to get to and from their berths but we believe that when dredging the channels they put the silt in big piles making mud banks for the unwary.   We ran aground abut 8 times on our short trip.   We had to change plans for which fuel dock to use because the channel markers were so in the wrong places that we gave up on our preferred choice.    Anyway we got back to the anchorage and decided that as several of our size boats had departed we would change the vista.    We happened to anchor next to a classic boat called Lone Fox.  Paul got chatting to the owner Ira from the US of A and he was having all sorts of problems with his boat.  A new generator installed for him 6 months ago was filling with sea water, which meant that all he could do was to go back to the people who installed it, as there was no way that  he could claim any warranty.  What the installers had not done was to change the fault in the system that caused his 8 year old generator to fail, a part which would have cost US$12.  They had agreed that they would stand the cost of any parts that were necessary but Ira would have to pay their labour.  What a cheek.

 

Well as you can imagine Paul offered to help and he spent 3 days on the boat, going through the problems that  needed fixing; the generator, the main engine and the charging systems.   The result is a very happy and healthy boat, a much happier Ira an extremely satisfied Paul and we have a ride out on his boat for the classic regatta which starts in St Maartan on Friday.   

 

I will of course report the outcome of the regatta in my next update.  So please keep watching.  

 

Bye for now and be safe.

 

Helen and Paul

Antigua and North – 8th January 2009

 

Well a very happy new year to you all.  The Christmas festivities are over for another year and I must say that as much as I miss Christmas at home with the family, it has been a nice change not to be running around like a headless chicken for days before, just in case something has been forgotten. 

 

We met up with Darleen and Neal Petersen from the Catamaran El Geeco, who we became acquainted with in Martinique.  Another cruising couple Lyn and Lewis on Sea Wings from Jacksonville Florida, also because regular companions.  We met them in the Mad Mongoose, a bar at Falmouth, amongst the many wi-fiers eager to make contact with home and checking the internet to see how the $ was doing. 

 

Sundowners on the various boats wiled away a couple of very pleasant hours on various evenings.   Neal and Darleen were waiting for their  guests to arrive in on their private jet to take them to St Barth for New Year where they were to spend the evening being entertained on one of the mega yachts.   Darleen however suggested that we should spend Christmas afternoon on their boat, and have a “pot luck” for Christmas lunch.  They had a trainee stewardess on board, Katy and it would be a good experience for her in entertaining guests.  I don’t know if Katy agreed with the experience but she did well. 

 

I had bought a turkey in a very unlikely place in Guadeloupe and I roasted it with some potatoes.  Darleen made some lovely  stuffing and roasted a chicken and Lyn provided a salad and a delicious shrimp dip. We had a really good day. 

 

Neal and Darleen sailed off on 29^th December following the arrival of their guests and we continued the festive season with our friends on Sea Wings.   The sailing fraternity is very friendly and invitations for “Painkillers” was on offer on New Years Eve.  At about 11.30  we went ashore for the turn of the year firework display and so 2009 was welcomed in.

 

One of the big boys in Antigua - the Maltese Falcon

New Year’s day we decided that we had been at anchor for long enough and to the fanfare of festivity horns and the waving of hands, we headed out to Five Island Harbour for a quiet night before heading out to Barbuda.  Barbuda is the sister island of Antigua to the north and the island is surrounded by reefs and can only be approached with care.   The thirty mile trip went well and we safely negotiated the various reefs on the west coast and anchored in Lower Bay.  With the approaching full moon the water was being picked up with  big swells and this made the anchorage rather uncomfortable.  

 

Barbuda was one of my favourite islands from our cruising several years ago, and imagine my horror when the clump of palm trees that we anchored in front of last time now on this near perfect white sandy beach with a wonderful pink hue, formed the backdrop for a new hotel complex.  Absolute sacrilege

The hotel within the palm trees in Barbuda

 

This was to be a brief stop.  Paul wanted to see the frigate colony again as it is now the mating season and the birds are parading their stuff to their potential mates.  We also had to clear out at customs to avoid having to go back to Antigua to do so, and so we trundled into shore in the dinghy.   Looking at the surf along the beach we realised that we might have a  problem in landing.   Our fears were founded.  We looked for the quietest area and headed for it.  We counted the waves in.  The sixth and seventh are always the strongest.   We waited until the big wave had passed and motored in.  Why oh why does it always happen.  Glyn jumped out and shouted “hurry Helen” all to no avail, wave numbers 8 and 9 came in and believe me, six and seven looked very small in comparison.   Our calculations had gone seriously wrong.  The breaking surf crashed over us, filling the dinghy to the brim.  Loads more waves continued to hit us and I just waited for the “You’ve been framed crew” to pop out from behind a bush.  I bet we would have won  the £250 prize money.  Needless to say we were somewhat wet.  Drowned would have been a better description, but at least the water was warm 29.9°c.  Sorry.  

 

Time to make a plan.  HMG was bucking on the swells and we decided that our wish list had to change.  Glyn and I headed back to the boat and left Paul ashore to go to customs.  We could then see whether or not the sea state changed.   Glyn went to the shore when Paul arrived back at the beach and on the advice of a couple of Norwegians headed northwards where the sea was a little more settled.  A safe collection of the skipper ensued. 

 

Paul said that the inner lagoon was very choppy and so we had to abort the bird sanctuary trip. 

 

We were cordially invited to a beach barbeque by the two Norwegian families which we accepted, taking along our food in the customary way.  The surf had subsided. There were six adults and eight children and therefore needless to say we were kept amused all evening.

 

Early on the 4^th January we lifted our anchor and headed out through the reefs again heading for St Barthelemy.  The sixty mile trip was a nice down wind leg but obviously the slowest point of sail but it took us just under 8 hours to reach our destination.  St Barth is a French island in the heart of the Caribbean.  Very much changed since our last visit and boy is it geared up for another world.  Gustavia, the main town has so many upmarket designer stores you just wonder who they are aiming the market at, until you look at the cruise ships that come in on a daily basis, probably three at a time.  It is not the place for mere mortals such as us and so we found our old bar from the late 1990s which was still serving food and drinks for what can be considered a reasonable price in the scale of things.  A beautiful island for beautiful people, where the wealthy live.  We decided to head off to St Martin in the hope that reality could reign once more.

 

Wednesday 7^th January we headed out to St Martin also known as  Sint Maarten. The short 20 mile sail once again was a swift down wind leg and we covered that in no time at all.  

 

So you find us now in St Martin where we have locked into the lagoon for a week to carry out some maintenance jobs on the boat and in search of a good night’s sleep.  The winds continue to blow with the occasional squalls. The lagoon is a twelve square mile stretch of land locked water.   No doubt we will have another story to tell you in the next update, but until then keep warm, keep safe  and  most importantly keep happy

 

Love to you all

 

Helen and Paul

 

A footnote by Paul

 

The Caribbean as a cruising ground for sailors, as we know it is vanishing fast.  There may be a world wide recession but out here they have raised their charges.  In one island  5 euros per square foot for  boat to drop your anchor meaning for a 47 foot boat for three days it costs 36 euros to anchor in open water.  Anguilla charges the equivalent of £400 for a weeks cruising permit plus entry fees.  In the guide book it says that the benefit of this is that the anchorages are empty.  I wonder why?  The downside of this wonderful strategy is that the local population earn nothing.

 

Barbuda, an island that we visited many years ago now charges US$20 dollars one way to take you on a three minute boat ride to the customs dock.

 

We hear that the British Virgin Islands has filled the harbours with mooring bouys at US$25 per night.   You can almost hear the doors closing and the exhaust sounds over the horizon as the people are leaving these wonderful cruising waters in their mega yachts.   To anchor in the bay at St Martin is US$40 for a week and to anchor in the   lagoon for the same period is US$70.   Unfortunately the cruising guide book that went to press at the end of 2008 is so horribly out of date with regard to fees, with some charges being quadrupled.  However you only find that out when you have dropped the hook and by then it is too late.

 

We know of spectacular charter yachts which have only had one booking this season and these bookings would have been taken the season before the crash. 

 

I was paying my anchoring fee in St Barth when one of the super yachts paid his mooring dock fees.  It was over 10,000€.   The inmates have taken over the asylum leaving the rest of us only the back waters to explore, which are seldom reached by a boat drawing over two meters. 

 

So for our part rather than leave the boat in the Caribbean to do another couple of seasons out here sadly we are returning to Europe where, believe it or not as the marinas are becoming half full they are discounting their fees.    Ramsgate berth holders take note.  

Martinique and on – 9th December 2008

We left Marin on Tuesday morning to head further north.   We enjoyed our stay.  We met a nice American couple sailing on a Catamaran named El Gecco.  Neal is a South African who is famous for being the first black single hander to race around the world.  He has many stories to tell, but  the most amazing thing was that he knew a Russian seaman that we met probably 15 years ago in the Elephant Boat Yard called Victor and his wife Ludmilla.   He was an ex KGB man and he defected having built his own boat.  His dream was to race the O Star to America, and we gave him our old sails from a boat that we had at the time and you would have thought that he had been given the earth.  

 

Neal told us that Victor is fine and is working in the US but his wife unfortunately did not make it as she was refused entry to the US on a permanent basis and she was sent home.  There was no way that Victor could follow her and I believe that she died in Russia.  Very sad, but what an amazing co-incidence.  Neal has sailed with Victor.  Such a small world. 

 

To continue,  we  found a beautiful anchorage called Grand Anse D’Artlet.  It was secluded and quite beautiful.  The buildings ashore were as always a little ramshackle but the water was crystal clear and very tempting for a plunge off the back of the boat.  There were turtles feeding on the sea grass.  Wonderful.  We stayed there overnight and in the morning when more boats came in, we decided to move on.     Our intention was to go to Fort de France, the capital city of Martinique.    Not being a city girl, I took one look at the landscape and my heart sank.    It was a sprawling commercial port with a big cruise ship dock and the most depressing cloud cover you could ever not want to see.  Fortunately my thoughts must have transferred to both Paul and Glyn and it was a unanimous decision to change tack and leave the bay to see if we could find something a little less busy.    

 

We found another quieter anchorage at St Pierre which had a clear indication of hurricane Omar which hit the islands in October.  It showed the destruction that this immense force could cause.  A very strong town dock made of solid teak, very well constructed, was devastated and you could see that it was because the sea surges were so strong that the force of the water underneath the structure tore it apart.   The wood was lifted at amazing angles.   It is unclear how long it will take to put that right.  St Pierre is famous for it’s destruction in 1902 when the Caribs were run out of the island and the last ones were said to have put a curse on the settlers that they would suffer a volcanic eruption.  The story goes that indeed in 1902 the volcano erupted and the village was destroyed along with its inhabitants.   The replacement buildings appear to have used some of the old walls in the reconstruction.    The rain clouds collect over the tall volcano and this causes precipitation, or rain to you and me.  Once again some fantastic rainbows.  However I did not come to the Caribbean for rain, and so we headed off.

 

Next stop was Dominica.  We headed to the north of the island to a  bay called Portsmouth.  A lot had been said about this island, still considered UK and I can believe that because it did nothing but rain it must be true. Big clouds built over the mountains and dropped the rain on us in the bay.  I took more lovely rainbow pictures, but I won’t bore you with those.  Certainly Portsmouth is nothing like its name sake in England.  It was vying for capital city status in years gone by, but as it was swamp land, yellow fever and malaria put pay to that hope.  I must say that problem has now been cured.  Good job we had our vaccinations though.  Big Papa’s beach restaurant with a pool hall upstairs was interesting.   Big Papa lived up to his name and anyone who argued with him must have needed his head tested.  He was a big man.  The hurricane had caused immense damage to the beach side but he had put it back into order and was up and running again.  There were loads of large commercial ships blown ashore and there they will remain until they turn to dust.   

 

Both Martinique and Dominica are called “islands that brush the clouds and you can see why.  But they were very wet, which they say is not the norm, but I don’t believe that.

 

On to Guadeloupe and in the first instance to Iles des Saintes.  During this crossing between the islands we were reminded of the extreme weather conditions to be found in the Caribbean which is sometimes not for the faint hearted.  I really don’t know why I am here sometimes.   Out of nowhere we were presented with a squall with 35 knots of wind and heavy (very cold) rain.  We tried to get a couple of reefs in the main having shortened our head sail, but it was so strong that we lay ahull for a few minutes whilst the worse went through, completed the reefing (just in case) and went on our way.   Needless to say the winds died considerably and so we knocked out the reefs, pulled out the Genoa and we started blowing.    We had sufficient wind which was just as well because unbeknown to Glyn and I, Paul had an idea that he had a problem with the engine as we had been experiencing some air ingress into the diesel system.  In the anchorage it proved that he was right (again).  No engine and so we impressed the audience with an anchoring under sail.  I must say that we impressed me as well.  Top marks Paul and Glyn.

 

Isles des Saintes was a beautiful French village, immaculately kept and pretty painted houses and shops filled the main street.  From the bay you could see the two churches and a cross signified the cemetery high on the hill.  A lovely place for a couple of days stay, but it was a very exposed anchorage and that resulted in a couple of rather bumpy nights.   

 

Glyn said that he would like a bit of life ashore over the Christmas period and suggested Antigua, where he had spent 2007 Christmas.   Although the passage could have been unpleasant if the northerly winds persisted we said that we would give it a try and we headed off to Guadeloupe as an interim stop.  Once again we avoided the town of Pointe A Pitre and settled on an anchorage in the estuary called  Ilet

du Gosier.  This was signified by a big lighthouse which until recently was lit by Kerosene but has now been updated.  It marks an isolated island surrounded by reefs. 

 

We then took the bull by the horns and set off for the 80 mile hike up to Antigua tracking along the south coast of Grande Terre (Guadeloupe comprises two islands Base Terre meaning low land and Grande Terre meaning large land.  However Base Terre is mountainous and threatening and Grande Terre is flat.  Must be some reason!   The two islands are separated by a River which is capable of taking a yacht with a draft of 2 meters.   As we draw 2.2 meters, we opted for the longer passage around the island.  It appeared that we would be favoured with an easterly wind and for a while this was indeed the case.  However probably three quarters of the way up the east coast the wind and the current made it impossible to sail a productive course which resulted in our trusty engine  coming to the rescue.  I can hear the die hard sailors saying no, not the engine, but when you have a passage to make it is the most sensible way of keeping up a good passage time.

 

The trip to Antigua takes you past Montserrat, which is still erupting.  We passed it at the closest point just on sunset, and it was an amazing sight.  In the glow of the orange sky you could clearly see the smoke and lava dust falling into the sea.  Whilst the view to us was an amazing experience, to those remaining on the island which was there home, it must be soul destroying.  I have included a picture of Montserrat at sunset, yes another Caribbean sunset, but this one is with a difference. 

 

One small thing to boast about on the way up is that we caught a splendid Mahi Mahi, aka Dorado.  It was about two and a half feet  long and must have weighed about 5 or 6 kilos.  Glyn impressed again and filleted it in the cockpit in readiness to cook when we got into Admiralty Bay.

 

 

It was about 8 o’clock on Friday evening, when we got into the bay and the chore was to find a good  anchorage for the night.  However once again an hour out of the bay and the engine stopped, once again as a result of air in the diesel.  We did not worry however.  Paul picked up his spanners etc and headed down to the engine room and as if by magic after a few turns of the starter, it was alive and well.  With a promise to finally fix this problem in the next day or two, we headed in and anchored safely.

 

Glyn went below to cook our fresh fish, well part of it.  It was delicious.  The rest of it was put in the fridge to delight the palette another day.  Probably on Saturday.   A good day was had by all.   We are now safely ensconced for Christmas and looking forward to a bit of Christmas spirit.

 

Must go now, have to post this update and get ready for cocktails on an American boat this evening.  

We wish you well and if we don’t update the blog this side of Christmas may we wish everyone who takes the trouble to read it a very happy Christmas  time and a good new year.  Hopefully the pound will prosper against the euro and the dollar, so that we can feel a little more positive.   Thanks Mr Brown!!!

 

Love to you all and be safe

 

Helen and Paul

 

Saint Lucia – 8th December 2008

You know by now that wherever Helen Mary Gee goes, some mystery or excitement follows us.  You’ll be pleased to know that this is no exception.   We had decided to head off to Martinique on Friday.  Thursday morning we were doing some odd jobs on the boat when a man and a girl walked past the boat heading for the marina offices.  He shouted to us, really as a throw away line that he had heard we were off to Martinique on Friday and that as he was flying home to Belgium could we accompany his charter boat up to Martinique as the girl he was leaving on board with his charter guests was unsure of doing the trip on her own.   He suggested that one of us goes on the boat with her!  Rather a strange request from someone “just passing”.    He actually made a bit of a joke of it as did we, but couldn’t understand someone’s cheek to believe that he could expect free help on a throw away line like that. 

 

 

Nothing more was heard until Friday morning when the young girl that had been with him came to the boat to talk to us about what she should do.   Her boss Tom had told her not to check into customs in St Lucia but to go straight to Martinique where the boat lived.   We told her that  if she did what he had suggested,  she would have to explain where Tom got off the boat.   She could after all have thrown him overboard for all anyone knew and she would surely be sent back to St Lucia to sort it out.   The charter guests were angry, as would anyone be, that they had been left in this position.  They knew that Sheila had no experience in sailing the boat and that they would not under any circumstances sail with her.  They were looking at getting a ferry from St Lucia to Martinique to get back in time for their flight on Saturday evening. 

 

In the end we agreed, in order to help them out,  that Glyn would sail on the charter boat named Allegria and two of the charter guests would come onto Helen Mary Gee to even the load.    He checked the boat over and made sure that it was seaworthy and on Friday morning Allegria left before us, as we had to get fuel and water.

 

It started as a nice sail but very close to the wind.  However our lady passenger had hurt her back and the motion of the boat was making it uncomfortable for her.  We then decided that as we had to catch up with Allegria and in order to reduce the journey time as much as possible we would motor sail.   

 

We arrived in Martinique at about 14.00 but then had to find our travel companion as we had not seen them on the water.  Marin was such a big marina/anchorage.  Facility to berth 600 boats.  It was a needle in a haystack job finding a white Beneteau amongst the many charter boats which had their home in Marin.  We found a temporary berth which allowed the guests to get ashore.  We still had not found Allegria.    We had to take a berth in the marina as we thought that if we went to anchor we would never find Glyn again.   Eventually we had a radio message from Glyn to say that they had arrived and were at the Marina Office using their VHF radio as that on Allegria was not working on high power.

 

Adventure over but can you believe that a charter skipper would leave his boat like that to go to a football match.   I would expect a summons to be winging it’s way to his door.   Sheila, who was Israeli is apparently seeking alternative employment on another boat.

 

Martinique is of course a French Caribbean island, where you can find wonderful food.   Paul’s first task was to find the Pate for lunch which we did.  

 

It is so expensive out here.  The pound is falling against both the US dollar and the euro and it hurts.  Our money is not going anywhere near as far as it did earlier in the year but the prices just seem to be rising out of all proportion so we are paying twice.  A large glass of beer, probably half a litre glass cost 5.30€ and we thought the Springhead was expensive.

 

We will now take a little time cruising Martinique before heading off to Dominica.  We have to find somewhere nice to spend Christmas and we are still considering our options.

 

Love to you all and be safe so you can read the next instalment.

 

 

 

No update is complete without a sunset – Marin anchorage

 

Helen and Paul

 

Helen Mary Gee

Bequia and onto St Lucia

How every self respecting sailor should look with Marigolds care of Danielle

 

Captain Paul

Having arrived in Bequia Paul did the usual and checked in at customs and we had a little walk along the main street surrounding Admiralty Bay.  Nothing much had changed since our last visit at New Year, save that there seemed to be less of a friendly atmosphere around the place. 

That evening we went for our sundowners at the local bar.  Getting internet access was a good excuse for a drink.  Couldn’t sit in the bar using the computer unless we had a drink or two.   

We happened to meet up with a guy that Glyn did the Atlantic crossing with in 2007.  He is called Bequia, don’t know why!  He told us that there is just no work on the island.  He is used to picking up the odd jobs on the boats that call to the island etc but at the moment there is nothing doing.  That is probably why the feeling of anger is developing, especially in the younger people.  No work means no money and no money means no food etc. etc.    

We also found out that many of the young caribbeans are being recruited by the British Army.  Now whilst it is good in a way for those being recruited, what are we doing when we have so many of our young unemployed, recruiting soldiers from around the world?  It really does not make sense and I think questions should be asked.  It seems a good way give our young people a little bit of self respect and purpose.   They can always be trained away from the general troops if the army don’t want people who really don’t want to be there, but surely it would serve our country to get them working and off the dole and off the streets.   That’s me falling off my soap box again.  Sorry. 

Prior to leaving Bequia we went to get some provisions and were amazed at the price being asked for fresh fruit and veg.   A pound of sweet peppers, they were asking EC$24, roughly £6.00 per pound.  A white cabbage was £2.00 per pound and tomatoes about £3.00 per pound.  I was absolutely gob smacked and decided that I would wait until we reached St Vincent or St Lucia before having my 5 portions a day. 

Bequia to St Vincent – 26 November 

We set off quite early heading for St Vincent.  If the conditions were good we would head on to St Lucia in one hop.   It was a beautiful sail across the gap in the islands.  Hauling 9 to 10 knots, although we had a 1 to 2 knot current against us, but it was really good sailing.   As soon as we came in the lee of St Vincent the wind disappeared and we had to put the iron top sail on.   We passed Walilabou bay and decided that as we had made such good time we would head on to St Lucia.   No sooner had we made that decision, but the wind came up again 20 + knots smack on the nose.  No point in head bashing so back we went to Walilabou Bay.  Now Walilabou was one of the locations for Pirates of the Caribbean, Dead Man’s Chest.  It was reported that the film set was still there and it would therefore be interesting to see it.  We had been to the Bay in 1997 and so we had memories of the bay unspoiled.   

It was quite sad really, the structures that had been made for the film had already fallen into disrepair; we were told that the damage was caused when hurricanes Ivan and Emily hit Grenada in 2004 and 2005 respectively.     

Walibalou Bay St Vincent with some of the Pirates of the Caribbean scenery

 

 

It was however quite a hoot.  Boat boys were in profusion selling their wares, be it fruit, veg, jewellery and various other artefacts.   Paul and Glyn decided to go for a walk and came back to the boat looking quite pleased with themselves having tasted the local fruit juice.  They had arranged to go ashore for a meal at Tony’s Pirates Retreat funnily enough where they had sampled the local juice).  Tony said that his chef would start at 5 o/clock and so any time after that would be fine.    We turned up at 7 and were treated to the Bob Marley tribute called One Love on DVD, with his sons and various other artists performing including Tracy Chapman.  It was loud and good, but not as good as the real thing.   

Anyway the local fruit juice re-appeared in the guise of beer, but then I am sure you would have guessed that already.   Mine were rum punches. Not bad.  We had a choice of Creole Chicken, Pork Ribs or fish.   I went for the fish.   Unfortunately the chef failed to materialise and Tony said that he was more than capable of cooking himself, but it did take a really long time  I think at least an hour and a half before the meal was produced.   We were sitting next to the kitchen and so the time passed quite quickly watching how he went about it.  It seemed whatever you did you kept the gas flame up high and hoped for the best.   However when it arrived it was extremely good.  A nice Snapper was my fayre and I must say that it was a good choice.  

Back to the boat and the end of a very pleasant evening.  St Vincent however is a place that people warn you of and you must take care.  The literature says not to walk up to the marijuana plantation alone and that probably sums it up. 

27 November on to St Lucia 

A good trip up to Marigot Bay.  Once again last visited in 1997 and as often is the case it is foolish to return to the same place as it is often a disappointment.   I have not seen a place change so much and I must say not for the better.   When we were here before it was a lovely island retreat shielded from the sea by palm trees and hills.  Now however having taken away a lot of the palm trees and dredged the bay, it is open to the sea and it is now an upmarket holiday resort for Sandals and the Moorings etc.  Apparently it is extremely pleasant viewing the sea from the land but not so good from the sea looking in. You cannot anchor in the bay and have to pick up a mooring buoy.  The boys were charging $EC65 = to £16.00 for one night on a buoy.   We found a place to anchor on the outskirts of the bay and that was fine by us.   We cruisers are on a fixed budget don’t you know. 

Another early away the next morning up to Rodney Bay where we had decided to go into the marina, to celebrate almost a year since our arrival in Rodney Bay following the 2007 ARC.  Worryingly the girls in the office remembered Helen Mary Gee. 

The marina is busy getting ready for the 2008 arrivals.   The marina has changed beyond recognition, having replaced the old pontoons with very impressive docks, very well laid out and big enough to house the QE2, well maybe not quite that big.  However it will be interesting to see how the ARC participants react to what could be a severe lack of access to electricity (they have fitted US type supplies and European boats will need an adapter.  Unfortunately the marina only has 3 available and they are out on hire.  

They are busily preparing the grounds to make them look nice for the influx of yachts but at the present time there are only a few toilets available as they have not been able to build the new shower/toilet facilities in time. 

However they have worked tirelessly to get as far as they have and hopefully by 2009 the whole thing will be up and running like clockwork.  Good luck to them.

We will stay in the marina until Friday.  The first of the ARC participants could arrive this weekend and the marina will be a very busy place.  We will head off to Martinique being the last of the Windward Islands and then on to Dominica.  

This is Glyn

 

I will update you en-route.   Thanks for reading my story and keep watching this space.

 

Rain, yes this is rain over the norther hills of St Vincent taken from the sea

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

What blog would be complete without a Caribbean sunset

 

 

 

Best wishes in your preparations for Christmas.

 

Helen and Paul

Helen Mary Gee