Going North To St. Thomas

[Jim Jackson]

Well, hurricane season ended and now we are headed north with Wind Whisperer, Abasaroque, and Emerald Seas. We have had some great sails on the way north. Celebrated Thanksgiving at Saline Bay on Mayreau in the Tobago Cays. What a beautiful spot. The next day we sailed around to the Cays and snorkeled around the islands. We saw sea turtles, and lots of tropical fish on the reefs. The water was nice and clear and warm. The Cays are on the top of the list for must visit places if you like to snorkel. You must wait for a good weather window to really enjoy them because they are mostly open to the Ocean and it can get rough and rolly but you can always zip around to Saline Bay and have a nice quiet anchorage. Salt Whistle Bay is a little too crowded for my comfort but it is very picturesque.
We had some incredible sails from St. Vincent to St. Lucia and from St. Lucia to Martinique. Blue Heaven did over 8 Knots with help from a favorable current and it was a real blast. Once in the lee of the island you have nice quiet waters and still enough wind to keep sailing most of the time. We spent quite a while in Martinique at Grande Anse, St. Anne, and St. Pierre, exploring and waiting for a weather window. When we made our move, we had perfect conditions with nice winds and mild seas.
We had another great sail to Dominica and then on to Les Saints. What a beautiful spot and a cool little town. We caught a beautiful 21 inch tuna on the way to Guadeloupe from Les Saints so we had tuna steaks for dinner that night. Guadeloupe was beautiful and we wanted to stop at Pigeon Island to explore the Cousteau National Park, but it was too crowded to pick up a mooring so we traveled on to Deshaies and spent the evening there.
Early the next morning we set sail for Antigua and had a great passage to English Harbor. What a cool place, very historic and English influenced. We will spend Christmas here and then look for a weather window to Nevis and on to St. Martin.
Hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and a Very Happy and Healthy New Year.