Barbuda and Beyond

Well, what have we been up to in our silence? We left Freeman’s Bay and made a short hope up to Green Island to anchor within a barrier reef lagoon. Lovely.

Then on to Barbuda. Lovely white sand beaches, but we had to be very careful of the coral shoals that spotted the entire coastline. This was a quiet anchoarge, not many boats around, though a few superyachts stopped by. We made a couple trips to the beach to swim among the breakers and into Coderington village for some fresh food, more palitable drinking water and to check out the frigate bird colony. The locals were friendly and helpful and we enjoyed our time. The day we were to go on a tour of the northern part of the island the breakers wwere to big so we didn't go ashore. We decided we would head out the following day.

We made a short hop up to Gustavia, St. Barth’s, home to the rich and famous. which was a lovely place but really not a great anchorage and the St. Barth’s dining and shopping scene wasn't really what we were looking for. However, we did have a visitor, a remoray came for breafast.

So we made another very short but intense hop to Anse de Colombier, St. Bart's. It was an intense 3 nautical miles to our next anchorage because a squall came through and we were being blasted with 30+ Knots of wind and lots of rain. We had the engine on and we slowly and carefully made out into the anchorage. John and I were very happy to pick up the mooring buoy, but just when we thought we could relax, our mooring line snapped and we had to get back on the helm and pick up the mooring buoy again. Thankfully the engine was still on, otherwise we could have gotten even closer to the rocky shoreline. Anyway, we passed a couple of nights here amongst other sailors and sea turtles. We celebrated Adam's 1st birthday here with a great short walk from the beach in Anse de Colombier to the next bay. You are well sheltered from the wind here and we shared the path with a couple of tortoises too, very cool. 

The "Mighty Atom" pose

After Anse de Columbier we headed to Ile Forchue and I think this is our favourite anchorage on this side of the Atlantic thus far. The island is completely deserted. It once was covered in trees, but many years of grazing goats destroyed all the vegetation. In the end the goats ate themselves out of house and home and now the island is goat free and slowly the trees seem to be returning. 

We made a journey ashore and climbed one of the “mountains.” 

You know you are a cruising family when your children go for a hike in their swim suits. 

Adam making friends with a lizard.

At the top.

Looking down on the anchorage.

We also spent quite a bit of time splashing on the rocky beach and looking at the coral reefs in the bay.

Perhaps it was the desolation of the place that reminded John and I of the Western Isle of Scotland which made us feel more at home.

Unfortunately the need to get a new anchor, and some fresh food meant we had to leave Ile Forchue and head to St. Maarten’s. And here we are still. Simpson’s Bay Lagoon. We have been here nearly two weeks and our anchor should arrive imminently. We had a few other jobs done too. Our shade tent has been altered and our steering looked at, it had been making a clunking sound. But most importantly we have been around other kid boats. Gone Walk About and Safari were both here when we arrived, so the girls have been able to catch up with them. We have also met Sasquatch and Osler. We have not really done much here other than get jobs done and play with other kids, but it has been really nice.  Hopefully we will be leaving shortly for Saba. 

Atlantic Crossing and Antigua

Pre-Crossing

Lying in bed, the air is crisp, the sky is just beginning to brighten, the children are asleep, you can hear their gentle dreamy breaths, and John and I are lying awake running through the lists. 

We have multiple lists. An Interior Boat list, a Rigging list, a Deck list, a Grocery list, a Nice To Have list, a When, Oh When, Will We Be Finished With The Admin list, etc. Sometimes, it feels like we will never get everything done. Sometimes I just want to say, this is enough, we're staying here and we'll deal with sorting the boat out later. Sometimes we both question why we are doing this. 

We have been cruising for 4 months now. When I look back on our voyage I break it up into large sections or legs. While we generally did not complete one of these sections in one go they were our focal point, the major destination we were heading for and a place we would then evaluate how we were doing and what we would be doing next. In September we made our way across the Bay of Biscay. Our next goal was to get around Cape Finesterre. Then we set our sights on Gibraltar. After Gibraltar it was the Canaries and now it is time to make our next big journey, it is time to get across the Atlantic.

So, how are we? How are we feeling about this trip? Where are we going?

Besides feeling overwhelmed with lists, we are fine. We have had a wonderful time in Tenerife, Alberto and Celia made us very welcome here and we have really enjoyed exploring this lovely place. We are well rested, well fed (perhaps too well) and we seem to have all we need to cross. We even have little presents tucked away for the kids to open when we reach half way. We have opted to take two more crew with us. David Quinlan, an Irish man who is on his way to Canada and my Dad, Robert Little. It is wonderful to have my Dad making this journey with us, very special, we will have three generations of Little’s on the boat, not many people can say they have crossed the Atlantic in that kind of company.

Now, how are we feeling about this trip? Well, I am nervous, it is a long way to go, and while we are stopping in Cape Verde it is still at least 5 days at sea before we get to Mendelo, and then at least another 14 days until we reach the Lesser Antilles.  But it is not the time at sea that makes me nervous, it is the possibility of bad weather and the fact that once you are out of sight of land that is it. You are on your own and we have three small people on board that we are entirely responsible for and who did not make the crazy decision to be living on a boat crossing the Atlantic. However, while I am nervous I am also very excited. We are off on an amazing adventure, one that John and I have talked about for many years. One that I hope will live up to my expectations of good winds, sunny skies and calm seas. I am looking forward to my night watches free from all light pollution, and seeing the vast starry sky.  I am looking forward to being out away from cities and cars and internet, being away from it all and sharing this away time with my family. It is a huge privileged to be able to explore the oceans of our Earth and I plan to enjoy every minute of it.

Finally, where are we going? Our sail plan is to leave Santa Cruz Marina, Tenerife on January 1^st. Then head south to Cape Verde to the city of Mendelo on Isla Sao Nicholas. We will then take on more water, if we can, and fresh produce. We will probably spend 2-3 days there. Then we will set off for Antigua, Falmouth Harbour.

In all we will be travelling 2000 KNMs. May the weather be fair and the seas be calm, and everyone maintain a good sense of humour.

The Crossing

31 December 2014

New Year’s Eve 2014. All there is left to do is put the tarp over the dinghy, put the girls’ scooters away and take the sail covers off and we are ready to go. Goodbye Tenerife, hello Atlantic Crossing.

January 1, 2014

Morning. Happy New Year! And we are off!

Outside, we are cruising along. A fabulous sail.

Inside the kids and I take refuge in the playpen. Unfortunately, only a few hours out to sea, even though everyone took seasickness tablets, everyone is feeling a bit ill. Dad and Ruth are feeling the worst. Adam has been sick, which we find very worrying, but it should pass by tonight. We’ll all have our sea legs then.

January 2, 2014

We continue to make good progress, but the motion continues to be rather uncomfortable and the wind is very high. David is still smiling though.

January 3, 2014

During the night a dust storm moved in. We are sailing with the main with 2 reefs in and a reefed genoa. The winds are quite high and the swell is quite steep and uncomfortable. Thankfully the kids have stopped suffering from seasickness so we are playing with the iPads, watching movies and colouring though the motion is really uncomfortable so it is hard to do any of this easily. Dad is still feeling a bit rough, but I think the worst of it is over. The best cure for seasickness is sleep and a bit of food.

We wake up to a dust storm and big swell.

Not such a smooth sail now. It is not all that comfortable.

January 4, 2014

Morning watch change. We are still in a dust storm courtesy of the Sahara, and the seas continue to be uncomfortable, but as you can see we are still smiling.

Dad at the helm. He took all the pictures on our trip so this is one of the few to prove that he was actually there. He has certainly gotten his sea legs now. 

The motion is really uncomfortable and we are having to head straight downwind to continue heading towards Cape Verde. John and I have decided to bear away from the wind for a few hours and see how that feels. The only problem with this change in course is that we will not be able to make Cape Verde, so no stop, no more fresh produce. But we certainly have enough water, fuel and food to get us to Antigua and if it means Dark Horse is more comfortable then I think it is the best solution.

Today the kids and I played in the playpen again, and once we altered course we were able to watch a movie with popcorn in the afternoon. It is not great conditions for the kids to be out and up on deck.

January 5, 2015

It’s still dusty!

Adam is asleep and no one is feeling seasick so we’re going to try some school.

We put up the a-symetric spinnacker today, and unfortunately the head blew out almost as soon as this picture was taken. A real drag, as we were hoping to use it for a lot of the crossing. Oh well, c’est la vie.

Lucy is still up to her favourite game, swinging on the pole in the galley.

We kept track of the location of Dark Horse on an old Atlantic Crossing planning chart. We took note of the lat and long each mid day. Still dusty, still uncomfortable and still a very long way to go.

January 6, 2015

Even though the seas were not all that comfortable, Adam still is able to make sleep in his cot look so peaceful and safe.

January 7, 2015

Time for some more school.

We read in two books describing the Atlantic crossing about the glorious sun, the flying fish you’d find landing on your deck, and the warmth. We have at least gotten a flying fish, even if it is a very small one.

January 8, 2015

Bad weather persists and John braves the wind and rain to keep watch over the rig.

January 9, 2015

Our glorious weather continues. Though we did see a quick glimpse of the sun today and had a wonderful spirit lifting meal of pork, satay sauce, boat sprouted sprouts and rice. Thank you Chef John!

January 10, 2015

We marked our half way point today. Weather is still grey but it is getting warmer and we even had a bit of sun for a few hours. We marked the day with our first showers since we left and some presents for the girls and a beer each, luxury!

January 11, 2015

Still chilly, but we decided to try to fly our twin headsails. We were traveling straight down wind and since we blew the top out of our spinnaker this was the next best option. 

Unfortunately the sails were not happy like that for all that long, the second sail was rubbing against the top of the genoa furler and there was a risk of us damaging the sail so it came down and we went back to our usual sail configuration of a poled out genoa and our main. We were making good time though, doing 8.5-10 Knts at times.

January 12, 2015

It’s baking day! Scones and banana bread made by Lucy and Ruth. What a great pick-me up! We opted for some creative mixing positions.

January 13, 2015

Autopilot giving me grief today, John to the rescue.

January 14, 2015

Rough day for everyone so no pictures. Think we are all a bit fed up and ready to get there. Still a long way to go though. The kids are amazing. They have not complained about the crossing at all. We are so very lucky to have such amazing and tolerant children.

January 15, 2015

Sun coming up and David coming off watch. Still cool at nights, but atleast it looks like it will be sunny today and hopefully warm.

The girls got out some of their dress-up clothes today, and we did a lot of colouring and drawing. 

Adam had a turn at the helm, though he was not pleased when the autopilot would not do what he told it too. 

Ruth and Lucy also made an appearance on deck to play, which is a first for almost the whole trip. So the weather must be getting better.

January 16, 2015

Wind has dropped almost completely through the night, no more wind, but the sun is out and it is very warm. We have just over 300 KNM to go. We are all ready to be there. What I am looking forward to most is a shower! Haven’t had one since our half way party and the tanks are pretty low now, hopefully we have enough in the tanks to get us to Antigua, if not we will be breaking out the emergency supplies.

With warmer weather and no wind Adam was out on deck exploring a lot more.

The girls and I pass the time reading and making paper dolls and things. We haven’t done school properly in about a month so I think we are all craving a bit more intellectual stimulation.

January 17, 2015

Another beautiful sunny day, without any wind. Dad and David posing at the helm just to prove that it has gotten warmer. Sunset was just gorgeous.

January 18, 2015

John is a tad bit exasperated with the lack of wind. We tried to put up more sail just to get us going a bit more, but it didn’t really do much, we just watched the sails flap around. So the engine went on again. At least it means we have hot water for the dishes.

We had a visit from the Easter bunny this morning and she has decided to stay. She delivers chocolate coins and 70% Dark Chocolate to the crew in the evenings. The trick s you need to find the chocolate in your cabin before it melts.

Adam started to develop a heat rash today so a bucket bath in sea water was in order. All three of them in their own bucket.

January 19, 2015

We awoke to see land this morning. We are going to get to Antigua today! We are still under engine but we are all ready to be there and end this part of our adventure. Oh, shower here I come! I think John is most looking forward to a full nights sleep. The girls made a list of things they wanted to do when we got there, at the top of which was eat ice cream. Finding other kids to play with was the next most important. Hopefully there will be kids around.

We had a house martin join the crew at dusk last night. It was pretty exhausted and just stayed tucked up in the man mast sheets. This morning it seems to have gained back some of its strength and is moving around the boat a bit more.

About 4 hours out of Falmouth Harbour a small pod of dolphins joined us for a bit. They were the first cetaceans we have seen on our trip across which we found to be a bit odd after having had them with us so much on the European side.

We made it.

We tided up to the Antigua Yacht Club Marina dock. It was a bit scary coming in. There were soooooooo many super yachts and quite a narrow channel for us to come in through.  With no bow thruster turning around and going into a pontoon stern too is quite challenging.  Needless to say we held our breaths as John manoeuvred Dark Horse in and Dad, David and I stood poised with our fenders. We weren’t worried about hurting Dark Horse, it was more the millions of dollar of damage we could cause to the very beautiful classic yacht next to us. We were certainly ready for a drink once we were snuggly tied up, but first registration in the office, water in the tanks, and showers. Then a rum punch and a quick chat to Mom and an email to Maureen. Exhaustion was setting in.  Bed could come none too soon.

January 20, 2015

We have decided to stay in this marina for today and go over to English Harbour tomorrow. This one is just too expensive especially since we don’t see what services they are providing us except a pontoon to tie up too. At least when we stayed in Marina Rubicon in Lanzarote it was expensive but there was a swimming pool for us and the kids decent shower facilities, and power and water for the boat at no extra charge. There is none of that here. They are definitely not interested in little boats like us, they are here for the super yachts, but enough of the negativity on wards and upwards.

Today is also the day we say goodbye to Dad and David. Dad was up and out looking for a place for Mom and him to stay in when she arrives tomorrow. Thankfully he found a great little place just a 10 minute walk away where he will stay tonight. David is off to the hostel and then eventually on his way to Canada. It will be weird not to have a full boat anymore. The Atlantic crossing journey is certainly coming to a close.

January 21, 2015

We are up early and moving the boat to English Harbour, Nelson’s Dockyard Marina, by 8:30AM. Dad is on board to give us a hand.

The best part about Nelson’s Dockyard Marina is the grass! We are still stern to on the pontoon but the boats around us are a bit more normal, though there are certainly a few super yachts here as well. Gloria is our favourite at the moment. And Nomad, a boat we saw in Grand Canaria is here too. It is kind of nice to run into the same boats as we make our journey.

Dad and the girls are off to the airport this afternoon to pick up Mom. Can’t wait to see her. It will be so nice to be able to share all of this with her.

Mom arrives. The girls apparently have not stopped talking to her since they got in the taxi.  I think they may be a little bit excited.

The weather is perfect so we were able to end our day at the beach.

January 22 to February

Mom and Dad stayed in Antigua for 2 weeks. We spent a lot of time at the beach, saw the super yachts participate in the Antigua Super Yacht Race and made a tour of the island by car too.

 

It was really nice to be able to relax, to stop moving, or rushing, or thinking about what we need to do to the boat. John and I, and I think my Dad, found the Atlantic crossing exhausting, far harder than we thought it would be, or perhaps not what we thought it would be. While it is an enormous privilege to be exploring our great oceans it is also a huge responsibility to take your young family across it. There is nothing like being in the middle of the ocean to make you realise just how small you and your boat are. I am very grateful to have made the crossing safe and sound with my family and crew. I am sure I will be reflecting on the journey for years to come, but for now it is time to say goodbye to my parents and for our little family to start cruising the Caribbean. Next stop Barbuda!