Timing one's arrival at chosen spot is sometimes a wee bit tricky. Easy
enough to slow down, speeding up not so easy. We arrived at St.Lucia just
after midnight. On previous occasions I would run up to Marigot Bay anyway
and do a night entry. Not recommended if you are not familiar with the
place. Sailing into St.Lucia after three weeks at sea always takes your
breath away. The lush green, the pitons, the soft rain at times, the
rainbows that follow. I have had many magical moments arriving at this most
beautiful island of the Caribbean. I think it is the most beautiful one
anyway. The owner on board and my crew member have never seen St.Lucia,
and I wanted them to see the pitons which are south of Marigot Bay. On the
southern tip is Vieux Fort Bay and we dropped anchor in the lee of the
Moule Achique Promontory and had a good night's rest there. I find it hard
to sleep on a boat that is not moving after being at sea for weeks. The
quietness, the gentle rocking, and the excitement of going on land in a
few hours adds to this bout of insomnia :-)))
Early up and kettle on the gas stove, coffee anyone? Weighed anchor and
slowly motor sailed towards Marigot Bay. The pitons showed spectacular as
usual, and everywhere sail boats were appearing out of the anchorages and
marinas. First of course were the local fishing boats out to sea and waving
as the fishermen waving at us. Something that boaters do everywhere, wave
at each other as they pass each other. Just yesterday a sportfishing boat
motored passed us from astern, I waved and got no wave back. I threw both
my hands in the air, like wtf, and they waved back at us :-))) We arrived
at Marigot a few hours later and tied up to a mooring buoy. An incredibly
beautiful little hideaway as you will see if you look at our footage posed.
We cleared in, paid our dues, arranged for a taxi to the airport, and at
noon Joe and Peter was on the way to the airport to fetch Joe's son Mike
who flew in from the States to join our adventure. When they returned, we
went for some of the best pizza you will ever find, a few beers, and then
meandered across the bay to another establishment with a few pool tables.
Shot a few games and turned out Joe was quite the hustler. At 72 years old
he showed us youngsters:-))) a thing or two and walked away the champ.
These little stops also allows us to catch up a bit on our emails and
social media, and best of all, time to catch up with our families a bit.
Having wifi is wonderful after extended periods at sea.
The next morning at first light we slipped the mooring buoy and pointed our
bows in the direction of St.Thomas. I googled where the best place would be
to clear into the US, as our boat is US flagged, and St.Thomas and St.Johns
were mentioned. As St.Thomas is a rather big and busy port, we opted for
St.Johns, just a few miles east of St.Thomas. We had a wonderful sail up
with the wind on our beam, but once again arrived at night. Very shallow
anchorage, checked the tide, and tentatively made our way in and dropped
anchor in less than two metres of water. The Maverick is known for it's
shallow draught, and even if you touch bottom, you won't damage the props or
rudders. In fact, you can beach the Maverick, but be sure the bottom is sand
:-))) I just recently learned that Maverick Yachts is now also building a
Hybrid model as well. Fantastic news!!! Long overdue. Check their website at
maverickyachts.co.za. The next morning early we moved to a slightly deeper
anchorage, as the tide left us with us with just over a metre of water
where we were. We got our paperwork and passports together, dropped the
dinghy and proceeded to the Customs and Immigration offices. My First Mate
Peter has an ESTA visa, which one applies for online if you want to enter
the US. Turned out you either have to enter on a commercial plane or boat
and we were given a few options. Motor into twenty knots of wind and choppy
seas back to Tortola. Clear in there, get Peter on a ferry back to St.John,
and then they can legally clear him in. Or pay a heavty $3000 fine. Jokingly
I informed the immigration officer "No speaky da English, non comprehendo"
and we made or way back to our yacht. Going back to Tortola would be very
unpleasant, take a long time and burn a lot of diesel, thus not an option. I
have a friend, Christian, in Vieques, part of Puerto Rico, which falls under
the US. On a previous occasion we cleared into the US in Vieques at the
airport, and rather opted for this possible option. Just forty miles away,
and we arrived at Vieques just before dark and tied onto a mooring buoy. I
was in coms with Christian who followed our tracker, and we arranged to meet
at seven thirty the next morning. He took us to the airport and the
immigration officer arrived just after eight. He was also happy with all our
visas, except Peter's. In his own words, "I don't make the rules, I just
enforce them" Christian offered to fly us to Puerto Rico in his Cessna 205
to go sort out our problem there, and we excepted gratefully and thankfully.
Just a short flight and once we were airborne, Christian told me to take
over the control. I shook my head vehemently, but he just smiled and guided
me how to keep the plane flying at an even level. I was seriously nervous
and totally focused, but what an amazing experience. A pirate being a pilot,
pilots of the Caribbean :-))) He sailed with me about six months ago with
our friend Nathan from Vieques to Fort Lauderdale, and I showed him the
ropes. Ten days at sea and he was a natural, a quick learner and excellent
company. Now he was teaching me his favourite mode of transport. In Puerto
Rico the official issued Peter a visa waiver for a fee of $585, and Joe had
to pay import duties into the US on his boat which costed him over $8000.
And no, they don't except credit cards. Cash or a personal cheque. We could
also work through a broker, which would take at least three days and cost
even more. Our only option was for Joe to find a bank and draw the cash,
which was also quite tricky and understandably so. I sent Nicolas, our crew
member with Joe and Christian, as Joe's body guard, just in case. Nicolas is
a big boy, which always comes in handy under certain circumstances :-))) It
too us a couple of hours, but we got it all sorted, and flew back to Vieques
at about five pm, hungry, tired and thirsty :-))) Went back to the yacht,
freshened up, and went to Duffy's for some food and a few beers. Christian
brought his family down a little bit later to introduce us, wonderful
wonderful.
At Duffy's I checked the weather and it looked like a good run ahead from
there to Annapolis. I checked on Windy.com, and Fastseas to see what the
recommended route would be. The next morning, just to make double sure, we
went ashore one last time to check the weather forecast and get a few final
provisions, which we could not do the day before. We had about eight days of
fuel in our tanks left and set of confidently that we will make Annapolis
based on the weather predicted. Four days later the weather predicted did
not materialise and I had to make a different plan. When I took watch over
from Joe at six am, I discussed with him our situation, and our only hope
was to make a ninety degree turn and head for the Bahamas to get fuel. He
was in total agreement and without further adieu, changed course. Annapolis
was about eight hundred miles away, the Bahamas about four hundred. And no
wind. You don't want to run out of fuel in the middle of the ocean, for very
many reasons. The water turned glassy, the fuel gauge kept dropping, and I
was stressing somewhat. I could not sleep and one morning at about four I
decided to unscrew one of the covers on one of our fuel tanks to see how
much fuel we really have, and to see what type of gauge the Maverick has. It
turned out the gauges were very accurate and we sill had some distance to
cover before we will get to the Bahamas. I guessed we had about sixty litres
left which gives us about thirty hours of motoring. The last hundred miles
was really stressful as we got some counter current and were making slow
progress. A ship passed us close by and I considered asking them for fuel if
possible, but decided not to. They mostly run on crude oil and highly unlike
that they will have diesel. It was a massive relief when we made the Bahamas
with probably ten litres of fuel in each tank, the gauges were deep in the
red. None of the crew stressed, they all trusted me completely. Instead of
stressing, we stopped the boat every day for half an hour or so, dived into
the deep blue and had loads of fun. These are stresses that captains often
have to carry alone. But with a huge reserve of luck, I somehow manage not
to get into deep trouble.
I have been to the Bahamas twice before. Once running in with six metre
swell behind me caused by a hurricane close by. I was lucky then too, and
like then, very relieved to be there. We moored against the fuel dock at
about five in the afternoon, announced our arrival at the marina office.
Marcel, the manager there sorted us out quickly. What excellent service we
received at Harbour View Marina in Marsh harbour. We went for a snack and
some beers a Snappas, great food, and as it was Friday night, great lively
live music too. And as usual, got onto wifi and caught up with the world at
large. Saturday morning we took on 120 gallons of fuel, or in my terms 456
litres of diesel, cleared Customs and Immigration, paid our dues, did some
provisioning and departed for Annapolis just after noon. We will now
optimize the Gulf Stream, a solid current that runs up the east coast of
North America, which will expediate our progress greatly. Pacing ourselves a
bit, again, to not run too fast and get the headwinds predicted further up.
If we time it perfectly, we will get most wind from behind, and some just
aft of the beam. Wind against current is not a pleasant experience, and we
try to avoid that. We should be in Annapolis in about five days time. It is
hot out here, a few cumulus nimbus clouds forming every day now. Those big
towering anvil shaped clouds that flattens out at the top as it hits the
colder stratosphere. Powerful clouds with lots of thunder and lightning and
rain. Spectacular to say the least.
Catch you on the flip side :-)))
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