St. Kitts

The weather forecast looked good for the 45 mile hop from St. Barths to St. Kitts, and we were getting a little cranky with all the rocking and rolling in Gustavia harbor, so were glad to get under way. We had a nice 30 mile sail to the lush northern tip of St. Kitts, where we fell under the influence of the island and the wind dropped off, so turned the engine on, which recharged our batteries and heated up the water in our hot water heater = hot showers…yay!

The water is pretty deep right up to the western coast of St. Kitts, so we motored along only about a half mile or so offshore, providing us with a terrific close up look at the old fort at Brimstone Hill, rolling green hills and cloud covered mountains, and several villages. The cruising guide describes the harbor at Basseterre as being prone to swells, and after our experience at St. Barths we were really hoping for a calmer anchorage, so continued on for a couple mile to White House Bay, which was blessedly calm, and we anchored in 25’ of clear water, with only two other boats nearby. As the sun set a herd of goats ambled out onto the cliff overlooking the bay, and each settled into their own little spot for the night, then stars and later the Milky Way took over the clear, inky sky. We slept really well.

The next day (Sunday) we decided to take the dinghy to Basseterre to clear Customs (about a four mile ride), so we scooted along the mostly deserted coast at a good clip, and entered the new marina/cruise ship complex, which sits on land created by filling part of the old harbor. It’s pretty nicely done, but has that “Disney World/Epcot Center” artificial feel to it, and has most of the same stores you see in every cruise ship port. The Port and Customs officials were pleasant and helpful, but there wasn’t anyone from Immigration around, so we were told to “come back tomorrow.” Another interesting contrast to US DHS/CBP treatment.

We then walked around town, which is very pretty, with lots of original old colonial style buildings, although KFC and Domino’s stuck out like sore thumbs! Okay, I admit it…we went into Dominos and got a thin crust veggie pizza, and watched some of the Obama-mania on CNN. Really interesting how his election has captured the imagination of folks throughout the islands. Almost everything else was closed up, and we nearly had the town to ourselves. We bought a couple of bags of ice and hopped back into the dinghy for the ride back, which was into the wind and chop, making it a wet and bumpy ride home.

On Monday day we decided to take the dinghy ashore at the bay we were anchored and get to town via taxi (after walking up the hill towards town). Immigration was as easy as Customs ( I could get used to this!), and we were soon back walking around town, which was quite a different place with all the shops open , sidewalks filled with people and cars jamming the narrow streets. On Tuesday we listened to some of the inauguration hubbub and then President Obama’s inaugural address on the radio, which was pretty short and sweet, but seemed honest and on point to us. I’ve been reading “Hot, Flat and Crowded,” which supports a lot of what Obama discussed.

Wednesday brought our friend Valentina, who flew in from St. Croix to visit for a few days, so we rented a car to explore the island a little. The girls walked around town while I got water and ice and took it back to the boat. We met for lunch and bought “Ital” food from a Rasta lunch wagon (we had lunch there a couple days before), and ate in the nearby park. We toured a really beautiful old plantation house , Romney Manor, (home of Caribelle Batik), and the huge fortress at Brimstone Hill. We met a lot of really nice, pleasant and polite people, and had a great time!

The southern end of St. Kitts, where we anchored, is quiet and beautiful, but there are huge development plans afoot to turn the salt pond there into a major marina complex, and several of the surrounding hillsides have had roads carved into them for residential development. Very nice cottages and restaurant (The Beach House) has been established on a great little beach overlooking Nevis, primarily to serve as support for prospects for the real estate sales operation. We met the manager, Eustace Guishard, who used to run the resort at Cap Jaluca on Anguilla, he bought us drinks and engaged us in a lively discussion about chance meetings, Caribbean cuisine, and the challenges of ‘low impact” development in the Caribbean.

After dropping me off at the anchorage the ladies went off on their own, they toured Ottley Manor an old plantation estate which lies on the northern shore of the island, got lost and ended up at a funeral! They got back safe and sound and full of stories.

After Valentina departed we visited Customs again to check out, but they said we were okay to go to Nevis (this will resurface in the Nevis installment!), so we turned the car in and got a lift back to the boat. It was pretty windy, so we stayed put in our snug anchorage for a couple more days before heading over to Nevis, only about 7 miles away. One afternoon I took a hike over to the windward side of the island to see how rough the seas looked, and ran into a herd of goats, and then surprised a group of monkeys. It didn’t look too bad out there, and we have lots more islands to see, so it’s time to move on…goodbye St. Kitts!