Ok, I promise this is the last installment. I’ll cover the sailing legs in more detail, some comments about the boat plus some random stuff that I forgot earlier or want to add.

Sailing - Yup, everyday is different

Oyster Pond, SXM - Since I had chartered from Sunsail in ’05, I knew what to expect and the drill which is a little different with Moorings but almost exactly the same.

The Oyster Pond channel is infamous or as Doyle’s guide says “can put hair on your chest”. There was a recent incident where some sailors (with experience & down for races) rolled a small (<36’) Moorings monohull, some crew thrown overboard and the boat was lost on the reef. So it is not to be taken lightly but there are helpful hints you can read and more importantly the Moorings or Sunsail staff will review in detail. They lead you out to the outer striped (now red & white - used to be green) buoy. The cruising guide & the charts (paper & electronic) have the buoy plus the Red Stick (yes, only sticks) channel marks (which curve) exactly as they appear.

If the wind is up (>12 kts), the crew has to be prepared for a bumpy (windward side of island) exit which can be a little disconcerting to some because it comes as soon as you start your way out & just after the charter captain jumps off the boat ........and you start following the rib as they lead you to the buoy. In ’05, the rib looked like a bucking bronco as I followed it out, this year the winds were low, so it was straight forward but he did wave me over to get closer to the red sticks.

The charter captain will pilot (and you will crew under their direction) the boat off the dock. Then you will get the dinghy repositioned, the dock lines / fenders stowed and mainsail raised before the captain steps off onto the rib just as you are aimed out into the channel.

Returning is a little trickier as you are coming downwind and being pushed by the waves / swells. The charter company will offer to meet you at the buoy and lead you in - so if you are not sure, then definitely accept the offer. Sure they would put someone on the boat if it was really rough & you did not want to risk it. It was blowing bet 15 -17 kts with higher gusts this year with seas to match.
You are asked to VHF call as you are 1/2 hr out from the buoy, which we did then call again when you reach the buoy, where they will ask you if you want to be led into the channel. I declined and we were fine. It gets a little exciting with a short crew as you get ready for the approach - adjusting dinghy, centering the mainsail (their instructions - no jib of course) and then picking out the 1st red stick which in the sun, surf hitting the nearby reef, waves, wind and bobbing boat takes a few seconds even when you know where it is.........oh, it’s there. Off we went with eagle eyed crew picking them up, me staying close to each and keeping the boat at a proper speed.....including having to let out the main as we turned for the last stick and the wind came over the beam. No time to relax as the harbor area is not that big and littered with mooring balls with spare charter boats sitting on them. So you don’t have unlimited room to head up, drop the sail and approach the fuel dock which is close to the entrance.&#8232;We set up our dock lines & fenders before we departed Il fourchue (I did the same in ’05 from Orient Bay) since we were short handed. After we dropped the sail, I actually had to use reverse 3-4 times to slow the boat down as we were being blown to the fuel dock in neutral. Moorings requests a downwind & starboard approach vs Sunsail which does upwind & port. Coming downwind the staff (same captain as departure) will want your starboard stern line 1st.

Enough about that.

Oyster Pond to St. Barths - Just gotta get there
5/23 - We all know what the departure day is like - so we did lunch to relax a little, started out around 14:30-45pm from the dock and our 1st log entry was 15:10. We just wanted to get there - so we motored sailed with winds too close to the nose and no desire to play around. It totaled about 3 hrs from departure to anchor approx 15nm.

Won’t comment on moving from Anse du Corossol to Anse du Columbier 5/25 except to repeat that the marine park moorings at Columbier did not have painters/lines, are a couple of different shapes and again we appreciated help from that Sunsail 473 crew.

St. Barths to Nevis - One BIG leap = 55 nm
5/26 - There’s no way around it and I eased the crew into the idea. Let’s get it done early in the trip and put it behind us. It turned out to be the best sail of the trip. The weather, winds, seas & Neptune cooperated.

We went to bed early, woke / ate early and at 7:30 the main was up pointed to our 1st waypoint. We sailed all the way to the NW corner of St. Kitts. Great sail with winds building and average seas. We had used 6 kts per hr as a minimum in our trip plan discussion yet we were doing mid-upper 7s without any sweat on the Beneteau. Winds started to head toward and over 20 kts as we were approaching St. Kitts, so we put a reef in and the boat even picked up a little more speed and felt great.
We built in two alternative destinations if conditions changed, a problem developed or crew got tired. The 1st one was in the channel between St. Kitts & Statia, where I was prepared to turn down wind to Statia. Everything was A-ok, so we turned on the engine, rolled up the genoa and turned toward Nevis as we headed down the leeward side of St. Kitts. The 2nd alternative was off White House Bay, St. Kitts, where once again everything was fine so we pushed on. We were on the mooring ball in Charlestown, Nevis by 15:40. A great day of sun, wind, salt, sights and Caribbean sailing = Priceless.



Nevis to White House Bay, St. Kitts - Again, just gotta get there
5/30 - We had put off sailing the afternoon before due to squalls in the area and just not feeling like doing it so late in the day. So we got up early and motor-sailed over. We ignored the 2 new private mooring balls and anchored with excellent holding in a quiet protected anchorage although it was breezy.

Rock Star - got any loose change - joined us for 1 night



St Kitts to Statia - Simple if you do not count part 1
6/1 - I already covered the C & I + marina dance on the holiday am.&#8232;But just after noon, we were pointed toward Statia. Motor sailing the Leeward side of St. Kitts retracing our wake that we made on 5/26.
We dodged fish traps like we did on the way down although there seemed to be more plus more than a few small fishing boats with local folks out catching a holiday dinner but always with a friendly wave. As we approached the NW corner of St. Kitts again & before we were entering the channel toward Statia, we had some unexpected but thrilling guests.

Dolphins - we were relaxing and just enjoying the ride when out of the corner of my eye, I saw something jump out of the water off the port side. They were so fast I could not get a good picture but I do have a witness. We definitely had one pair along side then in the bow wake for awhile and think there was a 2nd pair too. In retrospect, I think they were telling us to turn toward St. Barths instead of going toward rolly Statia. We were too excited to listen. Always thrilling no matter how many times it has happened.

We got into Statia around 1500 and grabbed a mooring ball with only one other boat (hint - hint) in the field.

Statia to ilFourchue = Not a leap but more than a jump
6/4 - this will be a 30nm trip with most across open water so a little more challenging than the last few hops. The weather & winds had started changing for a day or two so I was not surprised when we reached the NW corner of Statia to find the winds & seas already building - wished we had left a little earlier. The seas were at least 4-6’ +++ on top of swells (I still do not know how to accurately measure seas - too busy sailing) and shorter periods than 5/26 with the winds starting in the high teens and quickly moving into low 20s with regular gusts++. Of course, that is always when the reefing (single) lines decide not to cooperate. Long story short, it took a little crew chat, harness for safety sake, juggling at the mast and we were off again. It was a fast and salty (mostly beam waves) ride. Once again, the Beneteau had wonderful manners. We pulled into il Fourchue 4 hours approx after departing. The marine park mooring balls had lines & we were on after the 1st try - practice does avoid more practice sometimes.



il Fourchue to Oyster Pond - hard to get excited about leaving
6/6 - We had been buffeted by high winds & a few squalls ever since arriving, so I knew it was probably going to be a little bumpy on the way back to the base. We motored sailed the 8+ miles as it was all business now & we had a plane to catch. Always some mixed feelings and this was no exception. A wonderful 2 week trip on a very capable yacht.

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Moorings 43.3
Think I mentioned earlier, this was a nearly new boat. We heard that we were possibly the 3rd charter. If you want to see a quick tour, here ya go, just scroll down a little under new boat showcase:&#8232;http://www.cruisingworld.com/videos.jsp

It was very new but that does not mean it was perfect. I will say that Moorings usually (and also this time) does a very nice job in presentation with everything looking ship shape as we boarded.

We were very sensitive toward boat condition as we were searching for a boat for this charter. We felt we were subjected to a sub-standard boat last year that caused us lost time, so we wanted to put the odds all the way in our favor so we opted for a newer boat especially given our charter length and voyage distance from the base. The extra cost paid off since we did not have any serious issues.

There were a few things we observed (with the boat briefer) before we left and as always, we provided detailed feedback during the de-briefing in hopes that the next customer will have less issues on their list.

Bells and Whistles - This boat had a few deserving special items&#8232;1) Cockpit light - an actual lamp that slid into a socket in the table.
Stove Starter - the manual spark starter worked for the burners
Swivel GPS in Cockpit - Raymarine color screen built into table
Auto Drain in Master Head - look ma, no hands in shower
Auto Elec Fridge - just keep the batteries up
Dedicated Shower Head/Controls in Master Head - still rather be outside
Head Doors - Gaskets - no rattles & no leaks

A few Weaknesses
A/C condensation that did not drain - luckily only used once at base
Fuel Gauge - would not read full - only 3/4
Cabin door latches - don’t hold in rough seas & none for head doors
Log Instrument never worked
Galley - no utensil storage
Bow - no fairleads - moorings lines meet bottom paint
Reefing lines - too much resistance & weird routing
Dodger - blocked wind during dinner but hard to stow properly otherwise
9) Inverter - nope
Just a misc note = we had enough wind for 2 weeks that we never had to use the hatch wind boosters

The 43.3 sailed very well and had great manners in close quarters even at very slow speeds. It felt light but is just under 10 tons. Plenty of power with 54hp Yanmar but at 2200 rpm it moved well, was not that loud and fuel mileage was excellent.&#8232;
The bottom line = I would charter the boat again in a heartbeat.

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Copying my ending from last year:

Tidbits:
Telephone Service - Did not use cell phone (AT&T) much but excellent reception on each island.
Internet - can’t say the same. Might be different in hotels but wi-fi was mixed and internet cafes are few & far between.
Beaches (nor snorkeling) were certainly not the main attraction on these islands with maybe St. Barths and of course SXM as exceptions (beaches).


Lessons Learned
Closed on Sunday - they mean it....research & plan accordingly
Tourism Offices are often closed on weekends too
Don’t trust others with your bakery order - meet the driver
Remember to bring DC charger for laptop
Island Attractions - research at home to identify schedules


Highlights - random order
Reliable Boat & Positive experience w/Moorings
Sailing to Nevis + Sailing w/ Dolphins
French Pastries
Champagne Brunch at il Fourchue
Hiking the islands & Golden Rock Nevis Lunch
All the wonderful people we met on each island
Weather - overall
SXM Hotel - Balcons d’Oyster Pond
Dinghy Dock - Carbonara
Iguana Bar - happy hour location / view

Lowlights - only a few
Rolly Anchorages
Nevis C & I
US Air - clueless gate staff w/ CLT departure
Oil Depot in Statia plus all that went with it

Again, thanks to those TTOLers who helped with preparation & hints.

This Voyage had a different feel than last year as we were mostly off the beaten path (not a bad thing) and there was more focus on land than beaches/water. In the end, I checked off 5 more islands I have never been to before and a return to one (SXM) that made it easy to get it done.

So what’s next?