Hiking Through the Fruit Bowl

We departed Iles des Saints at around 7:00 am on June 13th for the 22-mile sail to Portsmouth, Dominica. We had considered sailing higher (further east) to get a better angle on the wind, but Field Trip had left at 5:00 am and radioed back that conditions were great for sailing, so we headed out Passe des Dames just to the right of Grand Ilet, which put us more on a rumb line with Portsmouth. With coral reefs on each side, we carefully threaded our way through the narrow pass and out into the open ocean. We had 20- to 22-knots of easterly to southeasterly wind on a loose close reach with 4 - 5 ft. seas, which meant good sailing.

As we approached Dominica (pronounced do-min-EEK-ah) we could see the mass of clouds pouring over the mountaintops and down to the ocean (it rains 300+ inches a year). Naturally, just as we got close to Prince Rupert Bay the squalls hit us and we sailed in near zero visibility into the harbor. We anchored between Field Trip and Escape Velocity on the far north corner of the large bay and breathed a sigh of relief to be out of the rain.

Dominica and the other Windward Islands have a tradition of boat boys. These are local guys, from 14 all the way up to 45-years-old, who come out in their boats, sailboats, dugouts, and offer their services. We had heard horror stories of boats being overwhelmed with boat boys competing for the business. So with this predisposition, we were somewhat chagrined when no boat boys came out to us. Turns out Dominica, in response to negative comments from cruisers, had restructured their boat boy system and now have an association, called P.A.Y.S (Portsmouth Association of Yacht Services) that regulates the boat boys, certifies the guides, and provides security at the north end of the bay. It's a great idea

It seemed to rain at least once a day in Dominica requiring us to frequently hide under the overhangs of local stores.

We got directions to Customs from Escape Velocity and began the 2-mile trip south along the bay to an industrial area where Customs was located. As is our custom, we simply began asking people where Customs was and eventually honed in on its somewhat hidden location. One guy even said "Ask for Mr. Daniels in Customs and tell him Edward has his lunch outside," so that was our introduction to Customs. The procedure was fairly quick and the payment minimal, so we headed back up the bay to the Fisherman's Dock and explored the small waterfront town in between rain showers that seem to be the norm on this island. The rain squalls only last 10 to 30 minutes so most people simply duck into a storefront until it's over.

Dominica is probably one of the poorest of the Caribbean islands and the downtown area was a far cry from St. Barts or even Iles des Saints, but the people were honest and friendly and made us feel welcome. The grocery stores were mostly small but with neatly arranged shelves displaying limited goods. We had hoped to find 85 feet of 10mm roller furling line but the huge marine store we were expecting turned out to be a one-room affair with very limited supplies. We settled for some spark plugs for the Yamaha outboard.

Mark, Sarah and kids off Field Trip join Flying Cloud and Marce and Jack off Escape Velocity for a tour of Dominica.

The next day Escape Velocity had arranged with a boat boy named Alexis for an inland tour for our group, but when the car arrived we realized we couldn't get eight people in and had to wait for a larger van. Our tour guide was Winston, and although his English was challenged and it was hard to hear him in the back of the van, he turned out to be a very knowledgeable guide once we got out of the van and started exploring.

A New York Times article described inland Dominica as "like walking through a fruit salad" and that was certainly a well-penned description of the island. Since Dominica is still undeveloped, the interior is mostly unchanged from when Columbus visited. Winston turned off the highway and began the long, arduous climb up into the Syndicate Rain Forest towards Milton Falls.

These bananas destined for England get a protective blue plastic bag to protect them from damage during their maturation and shipping.

It seems that every five minutes Winston would stop the car and point out a banana grove (with the banana bunch covered with blue plastic bags to protect them on their journey to England), avocado trees, mangoes, breadfruit, starfruit, bay leaf, cashews, ginger, nutmeg, mace, limes, passion fruit, pineapples, cacao, coconuts, coffee bushes, and so on. At one point he reached out and grabbed some lemon grass, which any Thai food aficionado will readily recognize by the smell. As Alexis later commented, "no one ever goes hungry in Dominica, you just need to walk out your door to the nearest tree."

Winston has us taste the sweet white pulp that surrounds the cocoa seeds.

Winston had Jack reach up and pull a pod off a tree. He then opened it to explain this was the cacao plant. He had us taste some of the slippery covering over the cacao beans, which was very sweet. The beans are later roasted and milled to make chocolate. We also saw a broken down mill from when they used to make rum from the sugar cane up in the hills. It seems the topography of Dominica was so rough that it wasn't conducive to crops like sugar cane that could be easily farmed, resulting in today's patchwork of small shareholder-type plots on the hillsides and mountain slopes.

We then began a two-mile hike up a gentle trail, stopping along the way for more plant identification. One plant he said they ground up when he was a little boy to make a paste (glue) for school projects. He showed us the pod from the banana tree that contains "the little babies" that spread out to make new banana trees.

The hike up to the Milton Falls. 

You could feel the force of the water tumbling down the rock wall as you walked up to the falls.

We forded several streams and made our way up to 80-ft. high Milton Falls. I volunteered to "test the waters" but Winston cautioned me to not get under the direct force of the falls. I totally understand what he meant as the sheer force of the water hit me as I got closer to the falls. It was like being in a washing machine on the wash cycle. Eventually, everyone else made their way into the cool water for a refreshing dip on a hot day. On the way out I noticed a huge sign that prohibited people from going into the pool since it provided the water supply for the town.

Everyone jumped in even though the water was surprisingly cold.

We next drove to another area for a nature hike through a forest of huge trees, most of the names of which I've forgotten. The most striking trees were the towering Banyan trees with the intricate root structures that looked like something out of a "Lord of the Rings" movie.
We returned to the car and drove down the rather steep hill to Morne Diablotin National Park where we hike along the mile-long loop of the Syndicate Trail, hoping for a chance to see some very rare indigenous parrots. The National Park is an 8,500-acre preserve created in 2000 to safeguard the parrots' forest habitat and protect this watershed that services the main town of Roseau.

This is what the Dominican's call the chataigner tree with its huge flying buttress-type roots.

Walking along an easy trail in the cool forest air Winston points out many trees using their local Dominican names, all of which are hard to remember. One interesting tree was the gommier or gum tree. The local Carib Indians would hollow out the tree using an intricate process involving heated stones to make sea-going canoes. We also saw the chataigner tree with its large, buttress-like roots and a fruit similar to chestnuts.

The elusive Imperial Amazon Parrot or the "Sisserou."

Further down the trail, we came to a viewing area that looked over a chasm towards a far hillside covered with trees. Just as we arrived Winston pointed out a flash of color that descended from high in a tree to a lower level. We'll never know, but it could have been one of the rare Amazon parrot species found nowhere else in the world called the Imperial Amazon Parrot and locally known as the Sisserou. The other parrot in this habitat is the red-necked Amazon parrot or jaco, which while not endangered is still a vulnerable species.

Two to three hours in a small van on back roads is no picnic, but we thoroughly enjoyed exploring the forests and trails of Dominica. Definitely worth a longer visit on our return trip this fall.

Iles des Saints

We left Pigeon Islands for the 23-mile sail down to Iles des Saints, a small group of islands lying off the southeast coast of Guadeloupe. Our friends on SeaShell had raved about these islands so we wanted to check them out for ourselves.

It was an interesting sail, to say the least. The weather was very squally when we left Pigeon Island and it went downhill from there. As we approached the south end of Guadeloupe all hell broke loose as a 30+ knot squall came over the mountain top and nailed us. We were already under a reefed main, reefed genoa, and staysail. We struggled to get the genoa in since we had previously (three times) broken the furling line and it was now too short to reach the winch. After a heroic struggle, I pulled enough in to get the line on one of the big winches (it shouldn't be that hard to bring in a reefed genoa). Meryl was yelling at me (it was really noisy with the wind) that the loose 5/8" genoa sheets were flailing around (this is typically how dodger windows get broken) and I was trying to winch it in as fast as possible.

Once we got it in things calmed down a little and we decided we'd try the technique of heaving-to where you tack the boat but leave the staysail cleated on the other side. We ended up in more of a "forereaching" mode where we were going forward, but very slowly, and the boat became very manageable. We'll need to try heaving-to without the mainsail and see how the boat responds.
We headed into shore (it was a leeward shore so it was safe since the wind was blowing us away from the land) and hid under the lee for a while until the squall passed through.

There was a 40 ft. catamaran sailing alongside us who went out, then came back in, then went out again with us as we rounded the southern point, but went back in after about 10 minutes of being bashed in the waves. Since it was such a short passage across to Iles des Saints (pronounced "ill day saants") we decided to continue on.

With the reefed main and staysail the boat was close hauled into 6 - 7 foot waves but was handling OK. Our only concern was a large freighter we had picked up on our AIS navigation system. It was very tough to pick him up on radar because of the heavy rain squalls that degrade the radar image. He was about four miles away but doing about 14 knots straight towards us. The name on the AIS was UBC Stavanger and I hailed him on VHF channel 16. I told him our boat name and position and asked if he could see us on radar. I got back a faint response with a heavy foreign accent that was almost unintelligible. Tried a few more times with no luck. Well, we could see him visually so we decided he probably would change course as he got closer.

AIS readout from the navigation computer screen of UBC Stavanger passing Flying Cloud.

As we were discussing our options about Stavanger a heavy squall came up behind him and engulfed us in 30+ winds and visibility of about 40 ft. I went down below to check the computer and saw that we were definitely on a collision course with the time of contact in about 4 minutes. Got on the radio again and repeated: "Stavanger, please alter course to past astern of sailboat." Got the same unintelligible response so we began to take evasive action, except at 6 knots of speed there's much we can do to get out of the way of a ship going 14 knots.

This may not look that close in the photo but in stormy weather, it is close enough.

Just then the squall cleared enough that we could see him steering astern of us. I'm not sure he ever saw us since all of a sudden there was a fast 50 ft. catamaran ferry just below us paralleling our course and doing about 20 knots. I think Stavanger probably saw the ferry coming and altered course for him. Oh well, another boring day on the water.

Approaching Iles des Saints we came under the protection of the mountainous islands and things calmed down a little. Dodged around a couple of reefs and entered a picturesque little harbor with about 40 sailboats at anchor or on mooring balls. We decided we'd had enough excitement for the day and simply tied up to a mooring ball. These balls were very well designed and had a 2-ft. stainless steel pole with a large ring at the top to run your line through. Great design that made tying up to the ball very easy and safe. Why can't everyone design mooring balls like these?

Colorful local boats anchored off Terre De Haut in Iles des Saints.

Iles des Saints certainly lived up to its reputation. There are three islands in the group, Terre De Haut, Terre De Bas, and Marie Gallant. We were staying at Terre De Haut, which had more services, shops, etc. for cruisers.

Checking in with French Customs at a local Internet bar. We later met the French woman who wrote the computer program.

We cleared French Customs on the computer at a little cybercafé (love the laid-back approach to Customs that French has in the islands). I even filled the forms out in record time now that I understand the system a little better. Meryl dropped off our laundry at the café where they did two loads for $21, not bad considering there are no self-service laundromats in many of the islands.

We loved walking down the main street of Terre de Haut with all neat little shops and restaurants.

We walked the length of the small seaside village several times, stopping at many small boutiques and restaurants. Found one café that served probably the best French ham and cheese on a baguette I've had outside of Paris.

Meryl has never met a vegetable market she didn't fall in love with.

Meryl found an open air market and reveled in the large variety of fresh fruits and vegetables. This island caters to tourists from Europe who fly into Guadeloupe and take fast ferries across from the mainland. Since it was offseason things were somewhat slow and quiet.

Sara and Meryl had a special girls shopping trip.

Potential crew for Flying Cloud.

The next day Field Trip arrived and in the afternoon the girls went in shopping and Mark, Elizabeth (the human fish) and I took Mark's Brownies SNUBA rig out to a reef in the middle of the harbor. The SNUBA rig is essentially a small gas-powered compressor that sits on an inner tube that is towed by the divers. Sixty-foot-long air hoses with regulators are provided for up to four divers. It gives you great freedom since you don't have to wear all the cumbersome SCUBA equipment.

Seven-year-old Elizabeth is a natural in the water. Mark held on to her weight belt as we descended and she was completely at ease in the 20 ft. depths. She has perfected the ability to talk underwater and at one point I heard a "Walter" scream and looked over as she pointed out the first moray eel I've seen in the Caribbean. It was wonderful to be back underwater again. I've always had a hard time clearing my ears but going slower with the SNUBA gear seemed to help a lot. Saw lots of colorful reef fish, basket corals, bottles of wine encrusted with coral, and other underwater life. One that intrigued me looked like slivery pearls about the side of a quarter. Mark thinks they may be eggs of some type. Will have to look it up in our fish books.

On the last day we went out to dinner at a small seaside café with Field Trip. I gave in and ordered veal with a wine/mushroom sauce under the conclusion that there are no bad French restaurants. I was right. We even had some ice cream (glaces) for dessert, a real treat when you are cruising. We decided Iles des Saints was definitely in our top 5 list and would garner a longer visit next season.

SNUBA at Jacques’ Place

Field Trip laying at anchor in Nevis.

As we slowly work our way down the Caribbean Island chain we want to stop at each and every island, but we're fighting the clock with hurricane season rapidly approaching so we cherry pick those islands we've heard good things about. According to our guidebook, Guadeloupe is a cruiser favorite: "the one destination that delivers the quintessential image of the Caribbean; awesome beaches, tropical rainforest, active volcano, great hiking, creole cuisine, friendly, colorful locals, rum distilleries, abundant tropical produce, etc."

That works for us, so we departed from Nevis early in the morning with a nice steady 20-knot easterly. We were averaging 6 - 7 knots and enjoying a close reach when we got a call from Mark on Field Trip warning us of strong winds that were funneling around the southern tip of the island. We shortened sail and soon found ourselves in 25-knot gusts and 6 - 7 ft. waves as we passed the point. The boat handled well with the reefed genoa as we headed towards the lee of the volcanic island of Montserrat.

We had to stay several miles offshore of the active volcano at Monserrat because of volcanic dust in the air.

The 1995 eruption of Montserrat devasted the town of Plymouth with pyroclastic flow. 

The volcano violently erupted in 1995 and pyroclastic flow buried the town of Plymouth, resulting in thousands of people being relocated off the island. There have been subsequent eruptions in the years since. Because the underwater topography has been altered by the eruptions, there is in two-mile exclusion zone around the south end of the island that we skirted as we sailed past.

We soon lost all wind in the lee of Montserrat and ended up motor sailing the rest of the leg as the wind was once again on the nose. Approaching Guadeloupe was a treat with the towering mountain peaks shrouded in clouds and a vibrant green carpet of jungle flowing down to the white sand beaches, a very typical description of all the Windward and Leeward Islands. We arrived in Deshaies (pronounced "day-hay") around 4:30 p.m. and anchored between Field Trip and Escape Velocity with just enough time to enjoy the picturesque harbor as the sun began to set.

The next morning we went into town to wander around and buy a few food items. Deshaies was a step up from your typical Caribbean seaside town, somewhat run down with small grocery stores, a few patisseries, a couple general merchandise stores, and not much effort to take advantage of the incredible waterfront location. As usual, we visited the grocery store to get some fresh vegetables and other items, but we will have to save a more thorough exploration of the town for our next visit.

This meticulously maintained Hinckley ketch was anchored near us at several ports. 

The next day (June 7) we headed down the coast a short distance to Pigeon Island, location of the Jacque Cousteau National Marine Park, where we could do some snorkeling and scuba diving. We anchored in a small cover just inshore from Pigeon Island as it was a little too rough to anchor out at the island.

Mark from Field Trip brought his SNUBA rig and invited us over to Pigeon Island to go diving. The islands are about 2 miles offshore and given the strong 20-knot winds, it was quite a wet dingy ride. Once we got tied up to a dive buoy in a small cove in the lee of the island, we got the SNUBA rig set up and Mark and Walter dove along the northern tip of the island where a wall descended down to about 100 ft. Mark and Walter cruised the wall at between 20 and 50 ft., marveling at the incredible sea life.

With SNUBA you tow your air compressor in a floating inner tube behind you and as a result, you tend to cruise along slower allowing you to see more marine life. Walter saw two huge lobsters and a large poisonous lionfish, both firsts for him. There were also a number of big basket corals with many small colorful wrasses and other tiny reef fish darting in and out of their protective cover.

Meryl snorkeled with Sara and her two kids, Elizabeth (the human fish) and Michael, and saw lots of fish and beautiful soft corals. The dingy ride back was even more exciting than the one over since we were now motoring into the 20-knot winds and our little 10 ft. dingy was bouncing up and down like a rodeo bull rider.

By the time we got back we were both wiped out and took such a long nap that it nearly went into bedtime for us. Oh, the joys of being in your mid-60s. We did get to enjoy a phenomenal sunset, one of the rewards of the cruising lifestyle where every day you live on waterfront property with a view.

Where’s Jimmiee?

On June 2 we sailed the short 3.2 miles from Ile de Fourchue to Anse Colombier, a beautiful little bay just northeast of Gustavia, the main port on St. Barts. Voted one of the "Top 10 "Most Beautiful Anchorages in the Caribbean," this one certainly lived up to its reputation. A breathtaking crescent-shaped white sand beach nestled under the towering green peaks of St Barts, it was definitely a Kodak moment. After we got anchored we dinghied the two miles over to Gustavia with Field Trip to check in with French customs.

Commuting via dingy from Anse Columbier to Gustavia at St. Barts.

You'd think by now we'd get the French computer system down but the oddball keyboard and the reversed dates still got me. They also had drop-down menus for the departure port, but sometimes it was the country name and sometimes the port name. So much for consistency. I garnered my usual "you stupid American" looks from the port captain as I fumbled through the online forms.

During the season, St. Barts is the home of "A-list" celebrities and just plain rich and beautiful people (in contrast to the rather feral-looking yachties off the boats). We walked by designer shops that I didn't think we could even afford to walk into.

Our next boat.

It is a wonderful little French port, lined with super-yachts and with all the requisite sidewalk cafes and saloons.

The boys take a breather.

Elizabeth and Michael on a humongous anchor.

We explored the dockside area with Mark, Sara, Elizabeth and Michael. It's always so much fun to see the world through the eyes of young children. Had drinks and ice cream at a sidewalk café and decided to come back the next day when the shops would be open.

At the anchorage we were treated to the usual assortment of French yachties skinny dipping, sunbathing, or just parading up and down their boats in their birthday suits. Oh, those frisky French.

The next day we headed back into Gustavia to do a little shopping. Meryl's snorkeling rash guard had blown off the lifelines the night before so that was our first priority. The good news was there were lots of "end of season sales" but the selection was limited.

She got a bright pink one but later traded it for a white one she found at another shop. We ended up back at the Customs office asking about the restaurant made famous by Jimmy Buffet's "Cheeseburger in Paradise" (someone else said it was at Cabbage Island in Florida). The Customs guy seemed to be a big Buffet fan and let slip that the next night was the 90th birthday party of the owner of Le Select, and rumor had it Jimmy Buffet was going to show up and play some sets. We ambled over to Le Select, an eclectic restaurant/bar with a large outside patio shaded by trees and asked around trying to confirm the rumor. The bartender, in mumbled French, seemed to say that "yes, Jimmiee may show up." That was good enough for us. We sat down and ordered the fabled "cheeseburger" (Dicks Drive In, you don't have anything to worry about) and downed a couple of beers.

Back at the boat we went over to Field Trip and asked if they were interested in staying an extra day and heading to Le Select. We all agreed it was a once in a lifetime opportunity and decided to stay.

The beautiful beach at Anse Colombier, also on the Top 10 beaches list for the Caribbean.

The next morning, we dinghied into shore to explore the beach and do some hiking. We ended up hiking up one of the peaks that overlooks Anse Colombier. It was great to finally get some exercise but hiking in this heat is no picnic.

It was too hot on the hike even for this little guy.

Ran into a big tortoise along the trail moving at about zero miles per hour. He kind of hid inside his shell, but you can tell it was even to hot for him to give it the old college try as his head was still hanging out a bit.

Since we were leaving the next day, we decided to move the boats two miles down to Gustavia to avoid a long dingy ride at night after the Buffet extravaganza. Meryl and I went in around 5:00 pm to secure a table and managed to grab the last ones available. Lots of people were showing up which gave credence to the rumor.

We enjoyed attending Marius' 90th birthday party at Le Select.

I'm sure Marius was thinking "Who are these yahoos?"

Marius seemed to take a long time to pin this ribbon on Meryl.

Meryl had her picture taken with Marius, the 90-year-old birthday boy and got the special purple ribbon pin on her shirt. Field Trip showed up around 6:25 pm with the kids and we began the long vigil of "waiting for Jimmiee."

Sara and Meryl keep the kids busy with a game of UNO.

Sarah, always the mother and teacher, pulled out UNO cards and got the kids and Meryl engaged in a rousing game. Mark and I started drinking.

Getting a beer was a little of a challenge.

The house band showed up and got things moving. It was turning into quite a crowd of locals, French, the occasional American and other hanger-on'ers. Lots of people were showing up which gave credence to the rumor.

The band, whose lead singer was the Customs guy who told us about the rumor, was in rare form. More drinks, more music. Everyone was dancing and watching the local West Indians and French dance was a rare treat. The French do a Latin-type swing dance with lots of gyrating, rhythmic hips . . . whoops, I digress. After more drinks even Meryl and I were up dancing (but no gyrating hips.)

A short Frenchman took quite a liking to Meryl but eventually figured out she was with her husband. Meanwhile, a Goldman Sachs banker chic named Merrill had begun talking with us. She was very friendly, especially with Mark, and Meryl made the class move of bringing over the short Frenchman and introducing him to 6-ft.-tall Merrill from Chicago. Watching them dance was a trip as he came up to about her chest. He was a very happy Frenchman. More drinks.

At about 10:00 pm when we're all about to burst into a "where's Jimmiee?" chant, I notice a couple of American guys standing alongside the band with a guitar and banjo. Could it be?

After a few drinks this guy started looking like Jimmie Buffet.

I rush up with my camera (rushing anywhere is now becoming a problem due to all the drinks) and stare at this guy with the guitar who kind of looks like Jimmiee, but I'm not quite sure. With hopes rekindled, I walk back to our group to try and get confirmation. By this time the "more drinks" are beginning to take their effect. At 11:00 pm Mark and Sara have thrown in the towel and take two very tired kids back to the boat, leaving us to stand vigil. We are now BFF's with our little French friend who is standing on a chair searching for his tall blonde dance mate. We decide to give it until midnight before we bail, and things continue to get stranger. Some tall blonde Frenchwoman with a very low cut dress and a very menacing looking husband bends over to have a long discussion with me about "where's Jimmiee" and I'm thinking "keep making eye contact."

By this time both Meryl and I have given up the last vestige of hope about Jimmiee and slowly walk back to the dingy dock, occasionally looking back to see if maybe he's jumped up on stage, but nothing as the music slowing fades into the other night noises. A fun evening but apparently our parrot head days are over.

C'est la vie!

At 8:00 am the next morning, we found ourselves sailing along on a close reach heading for Ile Fourchue, a popular marine park just outside of St. Bart's. Since we started at Grand Case, rather than St. Martin, our angle to the wind was improved keeping the 20-knot easterly more on the beam, and making the 6 ft. to 8 ft. seas far more comfortable. We found a happy balance with one reef in our main and just the staysail and managed to average a steady 6 knots for most of the 27 miles.

As we were getting closer to Ile Fourchue we decided to alter course slightly and pass to leeward of Table Rock, rather than to windward as per our original routing. As I was watching our progress on the electronic navigation system it showed us sailing THROUGH the rock, whereas looking outside we were well to starboard of the rock. We both looked at each other a bit perplexed not understanding why the charts were off. Perhaps our GPS signal had interference? We were both glad it was daytime and we had a good visual. That was the first time we had observed this issue and hopefully it will be the last time. Scary.

As we approached the anchorage we were both looking forward to once again joining our friends on Field Trip, as we hadn't sailed together since Salinas, Puerto Rico well over a month ago. It's always nice to have a buddy boat nearby and we have become good friends, as our paths seem to be flowing in tandem towards Grenada. We picked up a free mooring ball and saw a beautiful crescent-shaped beach surrounding us with clear blue water.

Speaking of scenery, another French boat arrived and took the nearest buoy to us. Of the group of four aboard, the 50+ captain was the only one sans clothing. Seems to me that would be a bit awkward onboard, but that's just me. To each his own. We were much more interested in Field Trip's new boat bottom which had recently been painted with a copper anti-fouling paint. Walter decided it would be a good time to finish up our bottom cleaning. He hooked up the air hose to our air tank and went to work while I kept an eye on the pressure gauge from the deck. We later snorkeled over to check out the paint job onField Trip's bottom and marveled at how spotless it was with not even a tiny barnacle growing anywhere. I think we may want some of this paint for our next haul out.

Idelic anchorage at Ile Fourchue near St. Barts.

Next morning we were welcomed by now the entire crew of the French cat running around naked. I have to give them credit, they don't seem to have any embarrassment with other boats around. C'est la vie! We dinghied into shore and hiked up to the top of the island ridge to get in a little exercise and see the windward side of the island before sailing on to St. Bart's. We saw beautiful flora, rock-cairns, and views of both sides of the island that made it worth our while.

It was hot. St. Barts in the background.

Once we got back to the boat Field Trip, was ready to head over to St. Bart's a bit earlier than planned. We think it was the French gentleman joined by the rest of the crew, parading around on their boat that might have hurried their departure. We weren't too far behind as we headed across the channel to Anse de Colombier, our next destination.