Dominica: The Nature Island.

We had a good sail across from Les Saintes to Dominica, despite the wind shifts we made good time and Sarah was able to relax. Although, she is still very twitchy waiting for the gusts to go up above thirty and the boat to heel further. But Darrell had manage to persuade her that only one reef was needed and that all of the Genoa would be ok for most of the journey. Of course he had the added reason that two other boats were leaving just before us, so there was a race to be had! We took the narrow channel out which meant we were able to get into the channel ahead of them and Darrell kept the boat close hauled so he had a better line for our destination. So he was happy that we were in Prince Rupert's Bay and anchored well before they arrived.
We had a long hike to customs, but for once the online system worked and Darrell only had to sign four copies of the document when it was printed out. Being Dominica that means we are checked in and out for a two week stay, so we don't have to visit customs here again.
We decided to do the whole trail we had started last time we were in Portsmouth. This is a muddy and undulating section of the Watikabuli trail, with some very steep parts. This time we were well prepared with our hiking boots and managed to follow it well up into the mountains to the old railway line and across the ridges around to near to the American medical university. It was a good four hour hike up and down through the rainforest, listening to the birds and occasionally remembering to look at views and the forest rather than our feet.

A weekend in Les Saintes

We had one of our better sails from Malendure South to Iles des Saintes, the small group of islands in the channel off the south coast of Guadaloupe. The wind was only in the 20's, although it had been forecasted as 8-12 knots, so it was an easier sail and we made good time. We arrived and were able to pick up a mooring buoy near the main town. Although with the swell, large sailing cruise vessels and ferries this proved uncomfortable, so we moved and anchored in a small bay behind Le Pain de Sucre, which is a large rocky outcrop, good for snorkelling around. The bay is fairly quiet and not many boats can anchor there, it is very pretty and calm, which was more conducive to relaxation and sleep.
Although we have been to the Saintes a few times, we have not really explored the islands. So we spent time taking long walks up the hills to the Napoleonic forts, luckily we got up early to do so, as the main one closes at 12:30pm. The museum allowed us to improve our knowledge of the sea battles with Admirals Rodney and Drake, we liked the quote that one of the French Admirals with several ships took "a stroll" in the winds and missed the battle. They seemed to be rather disturbed by the new tactics that the British Admirals employed to win.
We also walked over to a beach on the other side of the island and shared our lunch with some goats that live there. The snorkelling in the bay was better than we expected. All in all it was a perfect way to spend a weekend. We even managed to catch the last few minutes of the England v France rugby match, as we were clearing out.

Exploring Guadaloupe

We motor sailed to Deshaises on a grey morning and we're lucky to find space to anchor in the middle of the bay.  Due to the exceptionally strong winds, a lot of boats had holed up there, rather than head North to Antigua. The changes in wind direction meant that all the boats were swinging in interesting directions during the day, which meant that where there seemed to be a large space, it soon closed as the boats moved. This meant that during the day as more boats arrived there were some fractious conversations between skippers and much re-anchoring, but it did provide us with some entertainment.We enjoyed an afternoon snorkel around the headland and an afternoon tea of French pastries with our friends whilst watching the comings and goings.
The plan was to hire a car, so we could spend a few days exploring the delights of Guadaloupe and doing some hiking. Obviously this being another French island, we ended up having to use the bus to get around, no cars to hire locally, at the Capital or via the Internet! Now the good thing was that there was a bus timetable so we could plan ahead and the buses were fairly reliable.
So we had a day out in Point a Pitre, the capital, and walked across to the marinas there. The bus journey took us around the North end of the island for some glorious coastal views as well as farming landscapes, maily sugar cane, framed by the volcanoes. The town has a European feel, but has retained some areas of character despite some of the modern development areas..

We then went up into the National park on the road that traverses the centre of the island,where it is mountainous rainforest. We were dropped off by the Rangers hut in the centre and we walked a few of there well marked trails through the rainforest and along the river. Very different from other rain forests we have been in, as the trees were younger allowing more light through.

Cousteau's Marine Park

The area off the North West Coast of Guadaloupe, by Pigeon Island and Malendure was where Jacques Cousteau did much of his diving and filming. It is now a marine protection area.  The snorkelling is some of the best we have done, as it is teeming with a variety of fish of all sizes, shapes and colours, lots of turtles and magnificent corals. The water was clear, although rather choppy with the high winds and swell.
Sarah was obviously on a mission when we dinghied out to Pigeon Island, as she swam all the way around it. She says she was trying to find a quiet spot! Swimming above divers can be fun as you pop their exhaled air bubbles, but it does spoil the visibility and is quite noisy and there were a lot of divers, possibly visiting Cousteau's statue which is about 30 metres down on the south end of the island. The marathon swim was worth the effort, as was the swim along the coast round the headland as we were rewarded with some fabulous sights.
We also had the pleasurable experience of joining our friends three year old on one of his first snorkels. The squeaks coming from his snorkel, as he saw the amazing underwater world, were a delight.

Some sails are good.......!

The sail to Iles des Saints from Portsmouth is only just over 20nm and so it was a relaxed, leisurely start. The situation soon turned though as we experienced a moderate swell but some very strong gusts. We still had a couple of reefs in the main and the genoa was well reefed, but gusts of nearly 30 knots had Sarah showing the knuckles on her fingers! Fortunately it was only a short passage (although to Sarah it seemed never ending) and we were soon into the more sheltered waters of Terre de Haute, the largest of the islands of Iles de Saintes. 
We had visited here last year and been entertained by a lone dolphin while we were on the moorings so hopes were high for a repeat performance. We managed to "bag" the last available mooring, and by the time we got ashore we had to have a drink whilst waiting for the Internet cafe to open before we could clear in. Things are so much more laid back on the French islands. No customs officials, just an "official" computer to record our arrival, print off the form, have it officially stamped and pay a euro or so and all is done. No passports or other documents required.
Being a French Island everywhere closes for a very long lunch, so we couldn't do any shopping while we waited. So we had to settle for a drink in a bar which was closing up around us.
We were soon joined by friends on their cat who had sailed from Pointe a Pitre on Guadeloupe where Andy had just had his gall bladder removed. They don't routinely do this to visiting yachtsmen, but the diagnosis explained the abdominal pains that he had been experiencing for the last few weeks! We were fascinated by the egg size stone that they removed, no wonder he had been in pain! Darrell came in useful for changing dressings, as his wife was rather squeemish about his scars. 
Essential maintenance on their cateraman had been postponed due to the skippers immobility after the operation so Darrell volunteered the 'simple' task of fuel filter change. This involved climbing down into the engine compartment and standing barefoot in bilge water. (x2 of course as there are two hulls with an engine in each) and then replacing both the primary and secondary filters on each engine. The job of changing filters was soon accomplished but then the task of bleeding all the air out of the system took the next 36 hours! I did stop for meals and sleep, and the odd jump on the trampoline with their three year old son, but can now say with some certainty that I am well versed with the component parts of a Volvo Diesel engine, particularly the injectors.
The enforced delay due to Darrel's confinement in the engine compartments meant we had to leave the following day for the short passage across to Guadeloupe and along the West coast to the Jaques Cousteau Marine Reserve. After the last passage Sarah was apprehensive as we left with a forecast of 18-23 knots winds. This turned out to be well founded as, after the relatively easy 8 nm crossing to the coast of Guadeloupe where we had a constant 23knots, we had the 'shelter' of the island. Unfortunately, like most Caribbean islands, Gaudeloupe is a volcanic island and its contours seem to concentrate winds rather than reduce them. Without going into the details, wind speed increased to 25-30knots and then 30 knots with gusts up to 40 knots. Beating into these winds was very wet and incredibly noisy and so eventually our well furled Genoa was  taken in and, with the onset of 40 knot gusts, we prudently dropped the main and motored the last 6 or 7 nm into Plage de Malendure, as by this time Sarah was a quivering mass and not saying anything. We heard from other cruisers afterwards that over 60 knot speeds had been recorded in a bay that we had sailed past where they were sheltering. We never had winds like that when we crossed the Atlantic, but Stream came through undamaged which is more than can be said of Sarah's confidence!
To add insult to injury as we were anchoring it began to hail with Sarah being hit by very large hailstones on the foredeck as she attached the snubber. The afternoon was punctuated by high wind gusts and heavy rain. All the boats were swinging about 270 degrees, which did mean that all the other boats that came in to shelter had to give a lot of space, making for an interesting afternoon.
Our friends in the catamaran also made the journey and ended up motoring and the engines both performed well, so the fuel filters were definitely ok much to Darrell's relief. Apparently Val was in a similar state as Sarah when they arrived., buckets were involved! We really need some nice sails where we set the sails and just tweek them as needed rather than the wet, noisy and uncomfortable sails (and frightening for Sarah) that we have had of recent.
The plan now is a few days R and R snorkelling in the Reserve before sailing north to Deshaises where we had our memorable 'dolphin experience' last year.

Seeking Parrots

As one of Sarah's ambitions is to see parrots flying in the wild, we joined a Norwegian family and guide Geoffrey on a trip to the Syndicate Nature Trail and waterfalls. Geoffrey drove us out of Portsmouth giving us the local history and showing us how the Ross Medical University is developing. All the student accommodation is in locally owned apartment blocks He showed us the house where the island's oldest lady, 128 years old, and her neighbour and best friend who was 124 years old, had lived before they died last year. We then drove up towards Morne Diablo, where the nature trail is. We had a pleasant walk along the forest trail, although a group of American students had made it difficult to hear the birds at the start due to their raucous behaviour. But once we had let them get far ahead of us we could enjoy the atmosphere and the calls of several indigenous birds, including the calls of the Sisserou and Jaco parrots, who fly down from the high mountains every day to feed on the fruit in the lower forest and the adjacent farming area. For the first time we caught glimpses of them flying above the trees and could clearly hear them calling.

We then wandered through the adjacent farms and down to the Syndicate waterfall for a swim, before eating juicy sweet grapefruits with the land owner, as he recalled with us the story of a local school visit, where they left five children behind overnight causing a massive police search. Luckily, the children were all found safe and huddled together by the waterfall early the next morning. You can imagine Sarah's thoughts on that particular school trip!
We managed to get back down to Portsmouth safely though and were back on board Stream in time for a leisurely meal before an early night, ready for the sail north to Gaudeloupe in the morning.

Dominica, Portsmouth

After a walk into Roseau to stretch the legs and do some shopping we sailed up to Portsmouth. The wind was gusting as we left and as we passed the docked cruise ships the sea was showing decidedly more than the usual white horses. We reefed the Genoa more so the boat was more balanced, but the gusts kept coming and getting stronger. We had a lively 26 knots of wind but the gusts were in the 30's. So Sarah was kept busy trimming sails and moving the traveller to spill winds. Not the normal relaxed, non scary sailing that she has come to expect. More a white knuckled ride, clinging on, hoping for the best and no time to be sick.
The wind didn't drop as we entered Prince Rupert Bay, in fact it was covered in white horses. So we sped across the three miles with just the main out. Anchoring in gusting winds of over 30 knots can be an interesting and challenging experience, as the boat has a tendency to shear on the chain. So it took a couple of attempts before both skipper and crew were sure of the anchor set. But the last mooring buoy had been taken so we anchored in a good amount of space towards the back of the moored and anchored yachts.
The radio traffic added to the sense of foreboding as boats were dragging all over the bay or having problems getting their anchor to set. Difficulties arose in those boats that were dragging but no-one was aboard due to the beach barbecue! A boat boy came to visit and gave us a beautiful helliconia to welcome us to the bay.
As the evening progressed the wind kept blowing, accompanied by rain showers, so to set minds at rest Darrell slept in the cockpit until the wee small hours when things calmed slightly. With the wind and the amount the boat was swinging, it was quite a noisy night, so sleeping wasn't the easiest thing. 
We have got to know a good boat boy and local guide in Portsmouth, which is a way of minimising the visits from other boat boys. So Providence, real name Martin, came over for a chat and suggested a walk that we might like to try out. Darrell took notes so we wouldn't get lost and after breakfast we got a lift ashore. (With the wind still blowing hard we didn't want to launch the new dinghy until we have got the lifting harness sorted, although Martin did reassure us that the forecasts predicted the winds should moderate - but then they only seem to get it right about 50% of the time.)
The walk took us out of Portsmouth and quickly into rain forest. As we walked up the hills we could hear parrots, but unfortunately couldn't see them. But we did get a great view across the bay. We joined part of the Watakabuli trail as we carried on up the hill and began to wish we had put our boots on as it was really muddy and slidy. But it was a great way to stretch the legs and escape the wind for a while, before a pleasant creole lunch ashore in the bay and then returning to Stream, hoping for a more quiet night!

A pineapple growing in the rainforest.

A Day Out with SeaCat.

Or 'Three Hikes in One Day!'

We have hiked with the Dominican Guide Sea Cat several times and each one has been an experience, a challenge and a huge pleasure. His knowledge, enthusiasm, energy and humour make a day out full of memories to treasure. We arranged to meet up with friends, who had shared our Sea Cat jaunts last year and all four of us were up for a challenge, so we left the itiniery with Sea Cat. With the caveat that we wanted to do something special and different, as we had already done several of the top Dominica hikes listed on the Dominica hiking website.
We were all ready, waiting on the jetty at the arranged time and still no clear idea of what we were going to do. But Sea Cat assured us that we were going to go to one of his favourite places, but were we up for some rappelling? Darrell agreed, Sarah was a little reticent, but the other two had no clue what it meant, so agreed eagerly. We were meant to start with an easy hike to a newly opened waterfall on private land, but it was closed as the cruise ships hadn't docked yet. So we drove off to the Atlantic side of the island with Sea Cat entertaining us with some of his tales of getting lost when trying to find new routes to waterfalls.
To view the photo story of our day click/paste the following link:

https://plus.google.com/115186525797147432996/stories/06eaa3d9-7cc5-34dd-98af-2503caa937ca14be235083c?authkey=CPPu3bOX1oSKuQE

Five and a dog set of on an adventure.

Challenge 1: Arba Wavicy. We started the hike up in farming land near the Rosalie headland and wandered for ten minutes along a trail before we came to a sheer drop. This is where the rappelling came in as we had to go down the cliff face. There were a couple of ropes tied to trees, lots of very strong tree roots and a section of rope ladder. Luckily, you couldn't see down to the bottom, so,it was a case of doing a section at a time and waiting for the others. Sarah first, Darrell bringing up the rear, while Sea Cat kept repeating "Keep your weight low and keep hold, of roots or ropes." But it was the only way to get down to the beach. So no choice but to go on down holding on very tightly!

Sarah is first to go over the cliff.

Challenge 2: The Atlantic Ocean and a rock under a waterfall. The swell and waves as the ocean crashed onto the beach were an awesome sight. But a swim was required, including Darrell body surfing and narrowly avoiding rocks. Then the boys all went out to a rock under a waterfall by the cliffs and stood on the rock while the waves tried to dislodge them.
Then it was the climb back up the cliff to the dog that was waiting patiently. Back at the trail head we had fresh coconuts courtesy of the land owner.  A great start to the day.

Hike 2: The Glasse Trail
An old trail that leads down to a Glassie Point a headland on the Atlantic Coast, which was used to bring up cargo that was landed there when this side of the island was not accessible by land. It is a narrow steep trail that goes along a ridge and through forest down to the headland which is a spur of from a volcano. The trail has spectacular views of the Atlantic Ocean and leaves you wondering how they ever landed any cargo safely, let alone carry it back up the trail.

Hike 3: Sari-Sari Falls
Another one of Dominica's spectacular waterfalls deep in the rainforest. It involved a hike down along a narrow path and a scramble over rocks up the river to the waterfall, where we could swim in the pool. Ideal after three adventurous hikes.
SeaCat had definitely given us a very special and wonderful day. Any one of the three hikes would have been superb, but all three together was sheer heaven for us.

Dominica

Finally, we were able to leave St. Lucia early on Saturday 28th of February, with some apprehension due to the weather forecast. The new dinghy safely stowed on the foredeck. We had our strongest winds of the season. It never dropped below 25 knots, with frequent gusts in the thirties and a few topping forty. Definitely gale force winds at times adding to a somewhat scary experience for Sarah. This was added to by the 5 metre + swell with very large waves on top. At least it didn't rain. But it did mean it was a busy sail for both the helm and the crew managing the sails. We did make good time up to Martinique and as the winds along the coast had settled decided to press on to Dominica, which is when everything got very blowy and unpredictable. So for a short time we furled the Genoa and motor sailed. The swell in the channel between the island was at is biggest and the wind fluctuated giving no time for a rest. The wheel had developed an annoying squeak and was hard work for Darrell. Then the engine developed a strange vibration so we put out a small amount of Genoa and sailed across to Dominica. Once we rounded Scot's Head everything calmed. The wind dropped and the sea was mirror calm, giving us a gentle sail for the last few miles into Roseau, where we picked up one of our hiking guide, SeaCat's, mooring buoys. An 11 hour, 80nm horrid and exhausting sail completed safely! Everything: boat and sailors were encrusted in salt.
At least the engine was fine when we came into the mooring and the squeak turned out to be the wheel lock being slightly on. So once we had rinsed off some of the salt and sorted the boat it was a meal and a shower for the relieved sailors before an early night.
We were both excited at being back in Dominica and we're looking forward to hiking with friends. We decided to see if we could get some ideas of the hikes we would like to do. So Darrell picked up the sailing guide and guides to the Caribbean, while Sarah went on the Internet. The difference between Dominica and St Lucia was astounding. The first webpage Sarah found was full of information on graded hikes that Dominica offers from the main Watakabuli Trail, that is divided into 14 segments and runs the full length of the island, to a dozen easy hikes, some intermediate and several hard ones. There were instructions and maps, information on buses and which ones needed passes from the forestry and guides. It was a pleasurable way of spending some time, while we waited for customs to open so we could clear in. We had to wait for the 5 o'clock ferry from Martinique to arrive for the customs officers to be available. It should have been quick as Darrell had completed the online form, unfortunately the customs officer's computer was not set up for the online forms, so Darrell had to fill in the two different forms by hand with the four carbon copies. When Darrell asked about immigration, he was asked if he needed a stamp in his passport and when he said, "Not really." The officer replied, "well you don't need to go then!"
That evening we met up with the friends we hiked with last year and discussed possibilities for the next day. However, SeaCat had been out all day and was shattered when we caught up with him about 9pm so we didn't get anything fully organised. All we knew was to be on the jetty for 9am and be prepared for an experience!

SeaCat- would you trust this man?

The Dinghy arrives at last!

Needless to say the dinghy did not arrive on Thursday. Darrell dropped by the office in the morning and got the DHL tracking details and to his horror when he checked its predicted arrival was Monday March 2nd. 

You can imagine his reaction! He went in for a chat with the team, and several emails were exchanged. He was a bit confused by the one who said perhaps these delays were God's way of keeping us on the island. His frustration was increased by the weather reports which were not favourable for sailing North for the next few days. So the rest of the day passed with a gloom hanging over Stream.
However, on Friday morning Darrell got the message that the dinghy had arrived. So off he went, excited as a child on Christmas day. Sure enough the dinghy was there. He then had to sort out the naming of the dinghy as the workshop had not got the message from the office, despite the emails being sent weeks ago. A named dinghy is less likely to be stolen and you are advised not to put the boat name on, as that would tell everyone who sees the dinghy you are not on your yacht. So he went through font choice, colour and spelling and returned to Stream a happy chap.

Darrell's first sight of the new dinghy.

We spent the afternoon getting the boat ready for sailing North the next day, checking the weather and doing last minute shopping; a milk delivery had finally arrived at the supermarket and everyone was rushing to get it as the supermarket had run out of milk on the Monday. So at 5pm, we arrived at the dock to take possession of 'Nautistep' our beautiful new dinghy. When we saw her we just had to laugh as the positioning of the P in her name just summed up the experience of buying a dinghy in St Lucia, but we were just relieved that we could have her so we didn't make a point of it, and expressed our thanks that we finally had the dinghy!
We swapped over the engines and said good-bye to our old dinghy and gave the list of minor repairs that were still required and off we went.
Darrell spent a while in quiet contemplation on the Nautistep, before we stowed her aboard. We then settled down for an early night so we could escape St. Lucia early the next day to continue on our adventures.

Darrell happy on the Nautistep!

Hiking in St. Lucia

We have done very little walking on St Lucia and due to our enforced stay here decided it was time to rectify that situation. Several hours research online showed there were a number of Forestry trails that sounded worth investigating, but little information on them in terms of routes and access. Most searches came up with organised trips or were more of the thrill type of experience like zip wiring through the forest canopy or segue trips on made up tracks. Whatever they were, they all had one thing in common and that was they were very expensive for something we could do quite easily, we thought, without a guide.Having failed with the Internet we decided to resort to the old fashioned method of seeking out the local Tourist Information office as the marina office only had a few leaflets for guided tours. This meant a bus trip into Castries, the capital, a place we have been to on a number of occasions and so we knew where the TIC was, in the cruise ship mall. Fortunately there were no cruise ships in and so we thought we would soon be sorted. How wrong can you be? The one occupant of the Tourist Information booth turned out to be a security guard who informed us that the Tourist Information lady (heirinafter referred to as the TIL) had "just stepped out, but would be back soon". A walk around the centre and a quick visit to the Cathederal of the Immaculate Conception saw us back in the TIC about half an hour later. Here we found the same security guard sitting alone and who informed us that the TIL "had just stepped out, but would be back soon". We reminded her we had already heard this from her and asked how long "soon" might be. She was reluctant to put a time on this but merely advised us she was sure she wouldn't be long and that she had to come back as there were parcels waiting for her.By this time it was late morning and so time for refreshments and so we headed deeper into the mall to the Pirates Rest for some local juice and to catch up on wifi. This occupied us for well over an hour, much to the disappointment of the waiter who was obviously hoping we may stop for lunch. A short walk took us back to the TIC where, once again the security officer with the poor memory for faces and by now looking decidedly fed up, informed us the TIL had "just stepped out, but would be back soon"! Fortunately we were rescued by a friendly taxi driver who obviously thought we could be good for a fare and who proceeded to tell us where the TI Head office was and he could take us there for a small fee. 
As we were in need of some exercise we decided to walk the couple of miles out of Castries.We found the building with no trouble and soon realised this was not the place to pick up leaflets, but managed to arrange an appointment with someone who "could help us". Unfortunately this person was "just stepping out" for lunch, but promised he would email details of the trails as soon as he returned! 
As we were fairly sure we were near the Forestry Offices where one of the short trail starts, we thought we would have a look for it to give the email time to be written and sent. We had an enjoyable walk around the area, but never found any evidence of the Forrestry Offices or the trail, but by the time we were back on Stream the email had arrived and we were able to plan the following days walk.
From the half a dozen trails mentioned we decided that we would enjoy the 'Barre De L'isle'. The trail is along the ridge that divides the eastern and western halves of the island. It is a walk into the Forest Nature Reserve. The description promised panoramic views of the island and views of the mystic rainforest. It also stated that the trail could be extended as it linked to a trail going up Mount La Combe. Another good thing was that this trail was on a bus route from Castries, so we could easily get there and back. 
So after an early start and two bus journeys we arrived at the trail head and met the forest ranger and paid our $50EC entrance dues. She explained it was a well marked in/out trail and that we must tell her when we had completed it for safety reasons. We promised we would and were about to head off when she went on to explain that in the past people would carry on and go up the mountain but due to a hurricane in 2010 this was no longer possible as the path was blocked by a landslide.
So off we went into the rainforest. The path was very well marked and easy to negotiate. The view points did give stunning views of parts of the island. 

The Forest Ranger Office Barre de L'isle.

The well trodden Barre de L'isle trail

Unfortunately it was all a bit tame and was like a walk that you would do with your family and a baby in a buggy from a National Trust car park, but without the tearoom. At the end of the trail is a laminated A4 sign marking the beginning of the Mount La Combe trail. Being us, we thought, despite the warnings, we would give it ago. We wandered along for about 600 metres to the landslide, which of course we tried to traverse and climb up but couldn't find anyway of continuing further. So it was a disappointed pair who caught the bus back into Castries.

As it was only lunchtime,we caught another bus to Union Trail. But the less said about the trail and the disturbing zoo the better. Although Sarah did get a sight of parrots/macaws in a cage and spent time feeding them star fruit. 

Macaws (or St Lucian Parrots as Sarah wanted to believe)

To say the walk back down to the main road, to catch the bus, was more interesting and challenging than the Union Trail is an understatement.