18/2/11 Friday
It was a beautiful morning as we headed out early, the winds were light so we motorsailed in the lee of Guadeloupe. The clouds over the island cleared long enough for us to get some photos of the volcano. We arrived at Pigeon Island to find the few national park mooring bouys taken so we anchored in the bay just off the beach. Em treated us to a marvelous lunch of an assortment of pate’, homemade eggplant dip, baked camberert (sp), prawns in mayo sauce and a garden salad, along with slices of fresh baguette. We went for a snorkel off Pigeon Island; be warned the current on the east side of the larger island is very strong when the tide is running. There were many fish to see in the clear blue water and the coral was also very nice. After returning to the boat we took the dingy to shore to find some ice cream. There are many small restaurants and shops adjoining the beach; the area is frequented by many locals and tourist.


The beach at Plage de Malendure
Later that night I made some jambalaya with chicken and sausage, flavored with my home smoked chipotle and pablano chilis. After dinner, around 8:30 pm, we set sail for Nevis. There are few things I enjoy more than sailing on the sea at night. This night there was a full moon, which made it nice for seeing the sails and sea state, but it obscured many of the smaller stars and also the phosphorescence in the wake of the boat. We were on a three hour watch system, Em and Deb on one rotation; Kim, Dan and I on the other. The winds were steady and the sea relatively flat until we were halfway between Montserrat and Nevis. As dawn approached even Kim took a hand at the helm, she did very well by the way. The sunrise coming over Montserrat lit the sky up orange. As we approached Nevis we caught a small tuna, but let it go as it would have only made a snack for us. We motored over to the mooring field off Pinney’s Beach and I lassoed a mooring ball just as the girls came on watch, it was almost a 12 hour sail under very pleasant conditions.

Kim at the helm as the sunrises