Caribbean Adventure

Introduction

In 1997 we spent time with Toni and Little Swan sailing the Yasawa Islands of Fiji. We wanted to recapture the magic of that adventure so we made arrangements to meet Toni somewhere in the Caribbean and share three weeks exploring the islands. We invited Tony and Elizabeth to come as our travel companions. The planning stage commenced 12 months ago and now we were ready to go.

The adventure commences

San Juan Airport had been so sunny and rain free but suddenly we were watching a torrential tropical rainstorm pour down onto our unprotected baggage sitting on the American Eagle trolleys. The rain slowly but surely took the red dye from the bags through to the carefully packed clothes inside. We had started our Caribbean adventure. Soon the rain had cleared, the red dye was still running and we were flying over indigo blue seas on our way to meet Toni and Little Swan in Dominica.

Dominica

Our approach to Melville Hall airport was uneventful until the engine pitch on our Aerospatial aircraft suddenly changed, our port wingtip dropped and we found ourselves with wide eyes and open mouths staring at the treetops of the Dominican jungle. There was no sign of the beaches and yachts we had been visualising for months, just big trees and deep valleys.

We survived the treetop hugging adventure of the approach and landing and within half an hour we had manoeuvred past the Dominican customs department, reclaimed our soaking luggage and had located Toni’s smiling face.

Toni was quick to advise us that there were no suitable anchorages on the eastern side of the island and that Little Swan was sitting comfortably at an anchor in a small coastal village on the other side of Dominica. A small commuter van took us to Portsmouth for the next step in our trip.

It took us an hour travelling over the lush, mountainous landscape and through numerous small villages to reach our destination. Portsmouth was a shady, dirty looking town that was scattered with small shops and colourful inhabitants trying to get us to spend our money in any way they could. Its claim to fame was a number of large, rusty cargo ships that had been beached many years ago in one of the many hurricanes that frequent the Caribbean each year.

One of the locals, Eric, helped transport the bags and the new crew to Little Swan as she rolled uncomfortably in the slight swell.

He was the incarnate of Bob Marley, heavily woven dreadlocks, brightly coloured shirt and white teeth that were highlighted by his jet-black face. Before departing he requested rum as payment for his services. Toni provided a glass at which Eric screwed up his nose and shouted, “Hey, man, this is straight rum, are you trying to kill me? I need some water!” We all laughed. Eric was given his mix, drank it with gusto and left. We were at last alone on Little Swan in the Caribbean. The dream was now a reality. Apart from a short excursion ashore we decided not to take advantage of offers to explore the island’s waterfalls and rivers but to move on to the next destination.

Martinique
The next day we were sailing south heading for Martinique. The sailing distance would take us about eight hours and see us arriving in Saint Pierre.

After some good winds and no winds and partial winds we arrived at three in the afternoon anchoring off the public wharf in the middle of the busy, little town.

We went ashore and found a quaint little French town with some interesting history. We found out that a volcano had erupted in 1912 and destroyed the whole town. The next morning we were treated to the spectacle of a colourful local market near the wharf with steel band music mixing with the chatter and laughing of the many locals. Food and fruit were plentiful as was smiling happy faces.

Over the next few days we continued to travel south capturing the coastal sights of Martinique. We sailed to Fort de France, finally finding some beautiful beaches and the beautiful people at Point du Bout .While in Fort de France we hired a car and drove around the whole island even going back to Port Pierre and climbed the volcano.

St Lucia

Next stop was Saint Lucia, a beautiful island that had a distinctly British flavour. Rodney Bay was the first port of call.

We made use of the well- set up marina for fuel, water and a dip in Scuttlebutts swimming pool after a couple of fantastic Pina Coladas.

The next day as we continued our journey we approached Soufriere and were taken aback by the beauty to the two conical volcanoes, the magnificent Pitons jutting straight out of the water..

The town itself was untidy but the stay was made all the more rewarding for Elizabeth and Toni when they climbed the “Petit Piton” a feat made all the more remarkable as there was no established track and they thought the local guide was high as a kite.

Vieux Fort was our departure port from St Lucia and was a great introduction to the sprawling, colourful and loud Caribbean culture of a thriving non-tourist town. It was also an introduction to our first Caribbean mosquitos…Farewell St Lucia.

St Vincent and the Grenadines

Fair sailing over the next days saw us visit St Vincent and the Grenadines with delightful experiences in Bequia, Mustique, Tobago Quays and Union Island, giving us the chance to experience glimpses of the Caribbean we had seen on postcards. White sandy beaches, warm crystal, clear, turquoise water made this part of our adventure all the more rewarding.

Grenada

Sailing further south Grenada was the next destination with a long sail from St Vincent to St George where we anchored in a sheltered cove adjacent to the old Yacht Club. We engaged the services of a local taxi bus driver to give us a one day tour of the island with the main places of interest being, waterfalls and the rum and spice factories. The highlight was a visit to a small picturesque beachfront resort on the southeast coast.

With our Caribbean adventure now drawing to a close we had one major goal to achieve. Our journey to Port of Spain in Trinidad which would take 17 hours and involve a night sail.

We left Grenada at three in the afternoon with a degree of apprehension. The wind was strong with medium seas. Before dark we had eaten a hot meal and reefed the mainsail. The night was long with the crew taking watches of one hour on and two off. We saw ships, boats, oilrigs and even confused the far off lighthouse at Trinidad for a nearby buoy. We certainly learnt a lot that night.

Morning provided us with a very special surprise. As the sun was slowly rising approaching the coast we were visited by a school of dolphins. They swam playfully under the bow of Little Swan for a little under half an hour. We were so enchanted by the spectacle that we forgot to take any photos and even forgot to wake Peter.

Trinidad

We arrived at a large marina in the Chaguaranas area just north east of Port of Spain at about 9 in the morning and were greeted by stifling heat with no cooling breeze. The heat was so overbearing that we decided to take the opportunity to leave Little Swan a day early and seek out some air-conditioned accommodation.

So this was our farewell to Toni and Little Swan. Final goodbyes were said that evening at dinner where we all reflected on our fantastic Caribbean adventure.

We thought that those reflections should be the basis for the epilogue of this narrative. We thought we could summarise our journey by listing some of our wishes, our learnings, high points, low points and humorous events, so here we go………

Our wishes….

1. We had more time

2. We had spent more time exploring

Our learnings

1. Learnt a lot about ourselves

2. You can make your dreams a reality

3. Realising you can get by with one minute showers

High points

1. Good sailing

2. The Pitons

3. Mustique

4. Great onboard food

5. Learnt a lot about rum

6. Cocktails and champers at sunset

7. Swimming with turtles at Tobago Quays

8. Toni’s classic CD collection

Low points

1. Having to shop for ice every day (due faulty refrigeration)

2. Not finding the clear waters and white beaches we expected

3. Not finding the Caribbean entertainment when going ashore at night

4. No fish were caught

Things that made us laugh

1. Some of the locals were real characters

2. Toni bartering with the locals for fruit

3. The intense bureaucracy of the various customs and quarantine officials

4. Toni’s loud snoring

OK…Finally thank you to Toni for his expertise in guiding us through this journey, for putting up with our questions, moods and shortcomings over the three weeks. Also a big thankyou to “Little Swan” for keeping us safe