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CRUISING
FIRST-TIME CA RIBBE A N YEAR-ROUND SAILING
Pilots of the
Caribbean
LEFT: A secluded Iles des Saintes anchorage.
TOP: Melvin helms as skipper Nick looks on. ANTIGUA
ABOVE: Smiles and sunshine were in abundance St John’s Antigua
Photos: Miles Kendall
Guadeloupe
Dominica
English Martinique
Harbour St Lucia
Grenada
upe
Guadelo e
P assag
0 20nm
Grande-
Terre
Basse-
Terre
GUADELOUPE
Basse- ‘Imagine the natural
Terre beauty of the Isles of
Scilly with French culture
Iles des
Escaping the harsh British winter, Miles Kendall flew to St Lucia Saintes
and Caribbean weather’
looking for sea miles and experience. He returned with a new-found Dominic
a Pass
age
appreciation for Caribbean sailing and got into a fight with a giant iguana! Portsmouth
DOMINICA
W
Roseau
hen half a dozen Frenchmen waters for the trade winds and warm waters Nick Woods, a cheery Mancunian who Melvin, an IT consultant, completed the
start pointing at you and of the Caribbean. was never slow with a snack or a smile. crew. He had enjoyed skippered charters
waving their arms you know Snow was being forecast as I left the The thoroughness of his briefing reflected in Croatia and the Whitsundays but had sage
ue Pas
that something is wrong. You UK in January to meet up with Ocean the nature of the holiday. This was not a no immediate plans to gain any sailing Martiniq
N
may be about to drive over a lobster pot, Wanderer, a Westerly Oceanlord 41, in skippered charter where sunbathing was qualifications himself.
pick up the harbourmaster’s mooring or, St Lucia. Ocean Wanderer is owned by the top of the ‘to do’ list, it was a learning trip
heaven forbid, put ketchup on your frites. British Offshore Sailing School (BOSS) and and knowing what kit was carried was TRADES IN
St Pierre
In my case the legion of foreigners were has completed an Atlantic circuit every part of our education as well as being good The trade winds theoretically blow from
gesticulating wildly because I had stood on year for the last five seasons. Heading west seamanship. We looked through every locker the east or north-east and with luck we’d Fort de France
the tail of a giant iguana. The mighty reptile with the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC) and examined the five first-aid kits (including be reaching all the way as we island-
lashed wildly. I leapt into the air. The iguana she then cruises the Caribbean during the body bag and morphine) required for the ARC. hopped north from St Lucia to Martinique MARTINIQUE
darted off and the Frenchmen fell about English winter before sailing back to the Also on board was Mike who was retired then Dominica, Iles des Saintes and past
laughing as I sloped away to find a quiet spot UK, via the Azores, in the spring. A full-time from the car industry and whose long- Guadeloupe to Antigua. Daily passages ‘A line of dark water
marked the start of the l
in which to compose myself. skipper is joined by paying crew of all abilities term plan was to sell up and sail away, would be of between 30 and 80 miles and Channe
‘Do not feed the iguanas’ wind and moments later St Lucia
warns the sign Being bitten by an iguana is not a who are looking for sea miles and experience singlehanding around the world. Mike had if we set sail early each morning there we were barrelling along
risk normally associated with off-season rather than formal tuition. completed BOSS’s fast-track Yachtmaster should be time to explore the islands most in 20 knots of breeze’ Rodney Bay
Castries
sailing, but this was not a course but the examiner thought he still afternoons. It would be a whistle-stop tour
normal winter’s cruise. READY FOR THE OFF lacked experience. He had cruised from but would cover more than 250 miles and ST LUCIA
I had swapped the I met the boat in Rodney Bay, St Lucia, and Spain to Ireland and all around the Solent take us to five different islands. A touch of
frostbite and after a day of thorough briefings was itching and was looking to add more miles before glamour was added to our early start as a
fog of home to set sail. Ocean Wanderer’s skipper was trying for his Yachtmaster ticket again. pirate ship followed us out to sea – Johnny ➔
24 www.yachtingmonthly.com • NOVEMBER 2005 NOVEMBER 2005 • www.yachtingmonthly.com 25
CRUISING
FIRST-TIME CA RIBBE A N YEAR-ROUND SAILING
RIGHT: Carnival time
in Martinique INSET:
The sign of fresh fish
BELOW RIGHT: The
main anchorage at
Iles des Saintes.
BOAT BOYS –
BLESSING OR CURSE?
One thing that had put me off sailing in the
Caribbean had been the thought of the boat
boys’ constant harassment. Some islands may
have such hard-sell helpers but my experience
of boat boys in Dominica was purely positive.
A network of them operates in Portsmouth,
offering all sorts of services to yachtsmen. All
my preconceptions of boat boys were negative
and all proved unfounded. Edison had come
out to meet us several miles down the coast
and offered his services. The guidebook gave
him the thumbs-up and so we agreed he would
have first pitch for our business when we got
in. Once we’d anchored among the variety of
blue-water cruisers and charter boats he came
alongside and we fixed a price and organised
a boat trip into the jungle for the next day. His
cousin appeared, paddling a windsurfer and we
placed our order for ice and fruit. We sat in the
cockpit as the sun set, sipping a gin and tonic
with freshly delivered ice and lemon, and the
smell of wet jungle on the wind.
Depp supposedly trod her decks during the yachtsmen go on about the Caribbean as soared and dived. It was a wonderful assault rigged as soon as the wind went aft of the different in almost every way. It is one of the
filming of Pirates of the Caribbean. She was though it is some kind of sailing Shangri-la. on our eyes and ears as the band danced past beam. Then I realised that with relatively most picturesque bays in the Caribbean with
one of the few vessels we were to see out Mostly they’re just boasting, of course, but with children running alongside. inexperienced crew on board such caution a feel of The Land That Time Forgot.
of harbour. the combination of warm sun and almost This was the town’s annual carnival and meant that the skipper would not need to be Rising up behind the simple buildings
You can never be sure how strongly the guaranteed fresh winds does have a certain we had chanced upon it. There were no other constantly worrying about an accidental gybe that line the shore is a vast jungle of thick
trades are blowing until you nose your way appeal – especially when it’s snowing at home. tourists there and we marvelled at our luck. taking someone’s block off. A useful tip. vegetation. When asked by Queen Isabella
out of the lee of an island. We had one reef in There would be a party that night and we A mid-morning snack of fresh bananas of Spain to describe the geography of the
the main and a couple of rolls in the jib and IT’S CARNIVAL TIME returned to the boat for a quick siesta before and pineapple was interrupted by a dozen island, Christopher Columbus took a piece of
it looked as if we were undercanvassed as We dropped the hook off St Pierre on returning. Waking at 0700 the paper and crumpled it in his
we sailed north. Soon we were clear of the Martinique and went ashore. It was a Sunday next morning it was clear that we ‘A quick snack of fresh pineapple was hand to show the variety of
island and there was nothing to windward
but Europe, yet we only had a light breeze.
afternoon and the small town was asleep.
Wandering the streets it was obvious that
had missed the dancing but got
over our jet lag. interrupted by a dozen playful dolphins’ ridges, valleys and mountains
that have prevented mass
Then it came: a line of dark water marked we’d landed in a former French colony with Another Force 4-5 nor-easterly agriculture and allowed the
the start of the wind and moments later we such signs as ‘Coiffure – Ernest André’. drove us on our next island hop, from dolphins that emerged from the big blue. island to keep its wild aspect. The guidebook
were barrelling along in fresh Force 4-5 at One bar remained open and we had just Martinique to Dominica. We were sailing They played around the bow in a strange assured us that we’d see rainbows in
a respectable 7-8 knots. There was a fair- ordered a beer when we heard the sound of back to lands previously administered by the game of aquatic ‘dare’ before disappearing off Portsmouth and by the time we’d anchored,
sized sea running as the Atlantic swell was drums. We ran outside then stood amazed as UK and so the euros were put away and the to make someone else’s day. three different multicoloured apparitions had
squeezed between St Lucia and Martinique down the street a marching band appeared. East Caribbean dollars came out again. As we came into the lee of Dominica the emerged and vanished before our eyes.
but the Westerly Oceanlord was in her Fifty drummers, all dressed in orange, were Sailing with a professional skipper meant wind swung round behind us, going from east
MAIN PHOTO: Shaking hands Caribbean
element. She was happily broad reaching bashing out a fast and exotic beat – the that everything was done properly. Jobs were to due south. We ran, goose-winged, until it SKIPPER FOR THE DAY
style with Edison, a boat boy, in
while we all wore broad smiles as we ate up sort you might hear in the jungle as the carefully assigned and sheets were coiled faded altogether and then we motorsailed The ethos of the cruise was that everyone
Portsmouth Harbour ABOVE: A floating
greengrocers in St Lucia
the miles. missionary is lowered into the cooking pot. neatly the moment they had been adjusted. the last few miles into Portsmouth. Named mucked in with everything from making tea
I started to understand why some Above the beat the notes of a lone trumpet I was initially surprised that a preventer was after its British namesake, this Portsmouth is to cleaning decks but that extra tuition was ➔
26 www.yachtingmonthly.com • NOVEMBER 2005 NOVEMBER 2005 • www.yachtingmonthly.com 27
CRUISING
FIRST-TIME CA RIBBE A N
Terre d’en Haut, the
main island of the
Iles des Saintes, is a
civilised paradise
down to the individual. If you wanted to culture and Caribbean weather. It’s a unique Our next passage was to be a night sail,
know something or practise a skill then Nick and utterly bewitching mix. Wooden houses along the coast of Guadeloupe and across to
was only too keen to help. I was eager to log are painted bright colours and the streets are Antigua. We settled into a watch pattern and
some miles as skipper and so Nick handed pristine. There are great restaurants run with were soon enjoying the magic of a moonlit
over command to me for the next day’s hop Gallic flair and lively bars where the style of sail. The radar was regularly checked for
from Dominica to Iles des Saintes. the Left Bank marries strangely well with a squalls but none came and we were left
After a few days of letting Nick make reggae beat. There is also a church – though to enjoy a cracking sail with two reefs in,
all the decisions it was a pleasure to take where once stood a spire there was now only making over 7 knots in 20 knots of breeze.
responsibility for passage planning, laying a a pile of rubble. Mystery solved – and an We could have pushed harder but Nick
course and reading up on our destination. I important lesson in navigation learned. sagely pointed out the wisdom of sailing
knew that Nick was on hand to step safely within the boat’s and crew’s
in if my inexperience of Caribbean
waters led me to make an unwise
‘Imagine the natural beauty of the limits at night. He also didn’t want
to make landfall before dawn.
decision, and I thought that this Isles of Scilly with French culture There’s something uniquely
would be a great way for skippers
to recce these waters and develop and Caribbean weather’ special about being in the cockpit
on your own at night. I was
local skills before chartering here wearing shorts and a light jacket.
with family or friends. The next day I hired a moped and in three It was four in the morning. The waves
The passage was uneventful and my list of hours had driven along every inch of road that occasionally sploshed over the rail
bolt holes was not required as we reached the main island had to offer. There was a were warm. And all this in January. That
north then picked our way through rocks far-flung beach with a sign declaring ‘No enjoyment – and the memories of cracking
and reefs and into the anchorage off the bareness’ and a cove where a lone yacht sails and fascinating, varied ports of call –
only town, Bourg des Saintes. I was upset, swung at its anchor in utter seclusion. There lasted long after the suntan faded and left me
however, at not being able to pick out the was a long beach filled with day-trippers with a hunger to return to these fascinating
church spire I’d planned to use to guide us where local women sold freshly baked fish islands and explore further. W
safely into harbour and promised to visit the tarts – no sausage and chips here. And there
optician when back in Blighty. was the Napoleonic fort that looks down on
the main anchorage and gives a wonderful RUN FOR THE SUN
PARADISE FOUND view out over the sparkling azure sea. The Ocean Wanderer will be returning to the
The charm of the Iles des Saintes fort now contains a fascinating maritime Caribbean as part of the Atlantic Rally for
archipelago, part of the former French colony museum while in the gardens is an amazing Cruisers (ARC), leaving the Canaries in
of Guadeloupe, is hard to convey. Slaves collection of cacti, among which huge November. Berths for her long-distance
were never brought here as the land is too iguanas bask until hapless sailors stand on cruises cost £690 per week.
small and hilly for serious agriculture and their tails and scare themselves silly. Contact: British Offshore Sailing
consequently the population is more French It was a civilised paradise and I fell in love Tel: 02380 457733
than Afro-Caribbean. Imagine the natural with it – hook, line and sinker. One day I hope Website: www.boss-sail.co.uk
beauty of the Isles of Scilly with French to return and linger in a boat of my own.
28 www.yachtingmonthly.com • NOVEMBER 2005
