Wednesday 11/1/12
Mediation of the Captains, analysis of wind forecasts, and desire of crew to seek out Halloween festivities cancels planned voyage to St. Barts. We instead motored across Orient Harbot to Orient Beach.
Arrival at Orient Beach lead to an extensive lesson in anchorage. Bubba learns we don't just drop anchor. The anchor must sink into the sand (without a rock base or clay underneath). Once the anchor sets, the right amount of chain must extend for the depth, then the bridle is attached so the hull takes the stress of the pull and not the anchor chain. Some good 1500 to 1600 RPM reverses to make certain the anchor ha set. Then, a visual, as in swim out and double check from above. This exercise took the better part of an hour.
Tuna salad lunch, then loaded up Cutter Kitty for a trip to Orient Beach to shop and hang out on the beach. The natives will not leave you alone in their shops. We are swarmed and offered bargains and or bartering on everything touched. Bubbalicious got some stuff for herself and our babies.
Did Bubba mention as we walked to the shops, there is a big sign of welcome, along with a warning that nudity is prohibited? Yes, Orient Beach is a nude resort.
Our agreed upon rendezvous time for Cutter Kitty rescue arrived. We could see Capt Dave coming since our ship was anchored in our view. We all embarked into Cutter Kitty only to have a rouge wave swamp the dingy, depositing a bunch of water and kicking us sideways. Too much water for the voyage, we had to disembark, pull the dingy to the beach, and drain the water. Second attempt successful and we returned to the ship. The preceding sounds simple and dry, but, if you had witnessed the above crew and event, you would have laughed your ass off. We did!
Back on ship for showers, dinner, and costume party. All our wenches (including Bubbalicious) transformed into Biker Bitches with the men as Bikers. A wonderful dinner of sis kabob a la Rhett and Kelly set the stage for a wonderful evening. The crew from the Muscade skow, er, ship, came to party with us.
Following the festivities, all ended up on the tram in the quiet of the full moon (PERFECT for Halloween), sea breeze, and star gazing. Of course some fell asleep (including Bubba), but it is just simply awesome to lay there in the still of the night and see the bounteous sky above.
Our Thursday plan to sail to St Barts, to anchor or moor at Ile Fourche, a small private island just NW of St Barts. Expecting some great snorkels after a hopefully awesome 3 to 4 hour sailing voyage.
Friday 11/2/12 Ile Fourche
Voyage to Ile Fourche proved to be the first true sailing of the trip. Only 12 nautical miles to cover over open sea, the captains were indeed accurate on the exceptionally favorable winds. What was anticipated as a 3 or 4 hour sail ended up a bit over 2 hours. The shortened voyage was a blessing because of 3 to 5 foot swells. Like the old Bugs Bunny, "the boat was wocking and wocking." Bubba struggled a bit but found serious solace on the tram. Under the shade of the genoa, with water occasionally (actually, often) splashing thru the mesh as coolant, the motion of the ship was again like a big rocking chair or hammock. No sounds save the crashing ocean, flapping sails, and the wind led Bubba to a stress level lower than ever. Bubba never sees such a place back in the real world.
Leaving the serenity of the tram changes the preceding depiction significantly. Exiting the tram means sitting up, then butt crawling to a hand hold. No step taken in these seas without a hand hold. The helm is one place where the motion lessens, but, other than the tram, that is it. There is even a strap that will hold a cook close to the stove in these seas. Not that any of this crew would attempt such a feat.
Bubba again had holding tank duty, requiring about 5 mins below deck. NOT A HAPPY PLACE with the ship rocking like this, and no air conditioning under sail.
About 2/3 of the way to Ile Fourche, Bubbalicious could not hold it any longer and had to potty. She was forewarned that below deck was not a happy place but ventured anyway. Back above deck she really had to fight the sea sickness, but breakfast stayed down! She also discovered laying on the tram as a place to avoid the sea sickness.
We found an excellent mooring ball about 13:30, midway between the beach and 2 excellent snorkeling locations (starboard and port). there is a relatively new wrecked catamaran beached off our stern on the starboard side. The cliffs go right into the water with no beach on either side. Under this water are tons of boulders and rocks that have formed coral reefs teeming with life. We snorkeled for hours and realized we failed to bring an underwater camera like on our Cayman trip. Bubba will certainly buy one at our next civilized stop. Not having pics of these snorkel areas is a crime. Spotted yesterday more fish types than can list, sea urchins (big white ones), one small male sting ray and one HUGE female ray, at least as big as our deck table (which by the way, all 8 of us eat together here), and a small 3 or 4 foot nurse shark.
An evening meal of grilled burgers after one gorgeous sunset led to more time on the tram in the darkness.
Friday's plan is short voyage to Gustavia (St Barts). Chart suggests 5 to 6 miles, not sure if we will sail or motor. Captain wants to sail and not sure I want to argue. There is something peaceful about nothing but the sound of wind and flapping sails compared to the hum of the diesels. We ain't in any hurry anyway...riding on island time!
