Montserrat

After the Customs confusion we departed Nevis later than we wanted, the wind was light and just about right on the nose (again!), but the seas were moderate, so we motorsailed the 32 miles to Montserrat. Hopefully when we turn around and start heading up the chain we’ll be able to do more pure sailing! Montserrat is the site of an active volcano, which literally “blew up” a dozen years ago, covering the old capital of Plymouth in mud and ash, causing the government to cut the island in half, leaving the southern half an abandoned “Exclusion Zone.” Rumblings and occasional dome collapses continue to spew smoke and ash into the sky, and on St. Croix we sometimes wake to find our cars with a thin layer of ash, as we are more or less downwind from Montserrat.

Not normally appearing on the standard tourism itinerary, from Nevis I had checked the web site that gives latest info on the volcano, and found that there was indeed a bit of activity early in January, but nothing had been noted for the past week. So as the island appeared out of the haze we were sort of transfixed on it, wondering what we’d see. We eventually realized that the “clouds” trailing westward from the island were mostly steam coming from the volcano, along with some ash. Any ideas of later sailing along the leeward side of the island on our way to Guadeloupe went into the trash can right then and there!

The small anchorage at Little Bay on the north end of the island was really pretty, with green, high cliffs all around, and only two other boats anchored there. We dropped anchor about 5:30, only a half hour or so before sunset, and we happily relaxed in the cockpit and watched the sun sink slowly through the steam and ash laden air, making for as brilliant an orange and golden sunset as we’ve ever seen.

The night was blessedly peaceful, and we rose early the next morning. It was Sunday, so there was no chance of getting cleared in, the weather forecast was really good for the 45 mile trek to Guadeloupe, so we upped anchor and set out in the dawn light. We motored around the northern end of the island before turning south, where the tradewinds had backed a little north of east, giving us a nice slant for the sail to Guadeloupe - alright!

As we sailed along only a mile or so offshore, we were able to see the amazing devastation the volcano had wreaked on the island. “The Hand of God” might be a good way to describe it…gigantic sections of the mountain were blown away and missing, and huge solidified rivers of lava and mud, strewn with boulders the size of large houses were impressive…no…that’s not strong enough. Maybe shocking? We could see what we think was the airport, half covered in many feet of some kind of goop, and homes sitting abandoned right next to half mile wide lava flows. Obviously many buildings and homes were swept away or completely covered. It was almost hypnotic we couldn’t take our eyes off until the island disappeared into the distance.

After the eruption many island residents left for points elsewhere, the government built many new homes on the northern part of the island, which we could also plainly see, as well as towers with warning sirens in case of eruptions. It must be a very interesting psychological challenge to live so closely to a “ticking time bomb.” I actually visited Montserrat about 30 years ago, and hiked up to and peered into the volcano’s bubbling, sulfur-stinky, crater lake. Glad I wasn’t there when it blew up!

If we have time on the way back we may just stop and explore Montserrat a little…in the meantime, we’re on our way to Guadeloupe, and we’re having a great sail!