Captain's Log

The Picton Castle sailed in and anchored under sail at Jost Van Dyke, in the British Virgin Islands, after a short two-day passage. We had been in the Saints just south of Guadeloupe. And a small rendezvous with Carriacou Sloop Genesis off Nevis. Jost (as we call it, pronounced Yost, although lately we are hearing it said Just) is a small island only three miles long, just north of the bigger island of Tortola. Maybe 350 people live here. It is a port of entry. The island industry is making sure visiting yachties sailors have a good time under the palm trees with sand in their toes. Swimming, snorkeling, sailing, diving, calypso, reggae and country western music, plenty cold rum drinks for the grown-ups. A few small goats for the ‘boy’ to chase. This works out for the Picton Castle crew at the tail end of our voyage around the world. But first, we must clear in.

While all hands are furling sail (followed by a swim call) Tammy, Dirk and I head into shore to clear in. Lots of bare-boat cruising yachts in line to clear in also. Happy sunburned faces. Tilley hats and sunscreen. The BVI Customs & Immigration staff all very gracious, courteous and professional, and soon all papers were done. As we left the air-conditioned office and stepped on to the shade of the second-floor verandah with a fresh trade wind blowing, some folks on sailing holidays waiting their turn at clearing-in asked us about the big ship in the harbour (us) and where were we headed next. Told them, Bermuda. They were astonished that we might be sailing so far. Smiles came to our faces. We think we are almost home with only 830 nautical miles to get to Bermuda and another 700 to Lunenburg. These folks thought this was “far”. It’s all in the perspective. We radioed the ship to let them know to take the Q-flag down and off watches could come ashore (the Q-flag stands for quarantine, so it is raised before we enter a port to signal we have not yet cleared Customs and Immigration and is lowered once we have).

One of the best things to do around Jost Van Dyke is to sail small boats. Clear water, nice winds, small seas, blue skies, nice reefs and sandy beaches to sail to, all close by. We have two fine vintage wooden boats just for this purpose. Soon both the longboat and dory Sea Never Dry got launched and anchored off Foxy’s Tamarind Bar at the head of the bay. Over the next three days all who wanted to got to sail all around.

Foxy’s? Simply the most famous and original barefoot beach bar in the Caribbean. Established in 1968 by Philliciano (Foxy) Callwood. To meet Foxy is to meet the Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, and Paul McCartney of Caribbean Calypso and then some. Making up riotous songs seemingly on the spot, full of social and political satire and fun. Foxy is also a great leader in historical and cultural preservation in the Caribbean. So much so that Foxy was made an MBE by Queen Elizabeth a few years ago. The Fox is an international hero. Nice article in Soundings magazine on Foxy by Jeffrey Bolster not long ago. Married to Tessa since 1971, it was great to see them again. But I get ahead of myself. Much else to think about.

What else to do at Jost Van Dyke? Well, great snorkeling here and there, any number of classic and very relaxed reggae beach bars/snack shops and restaurants serving great Caribbean foods. In addition to Foxy’s with its beachside hammocks in the shade, there are Cool Breezes, Corsairs, Rudy’s and a couple of others. And usually some good place to dance at night. And it is so Caribbean blue beautiful around here. All day long, all night long. And the lovely trade winds blowing almost all the time. Part of the charm is the creamy sandy road through the village of Great Harbour. Feels good on the toes.

We sent the fore top gallant yard down for some close inspections and overhaul. Mate Erin brought it down, the gang overhauled it and up it went the next day ready for plenty more service. And then a swim call. Not bad a swim call after a day on watch at anchor.

As most might know, Hurricane Irma swept through the BVI in 2017. Did some pretty serious damage to most of these islands. Thinned out the bare-boat fleet some. A few called that part a “cleansing”. And also the islands to the east like Anguilla, St Martin, St Bart, Barbuda and Dominica and so on. And then to the west. Puerto Rico, Dominican Rebuplic, Haiti all got hammered hard. Here at JVD seemed like it sort of sand blasted the place. Most big trees down. Some buildings all gone, some showing remnant foundations, Some only needing new roofs. The hills are speckled with white/graying stalks of dead trees. Seems that this kill-off of flora was from wind velocity and a high salt water content going higher that it had for ages. It is dry season now anyway so the hills looked pretty parched. In a month or two some rains should green things up a bit.

But one small positive of all these dead trees is that we were told by Foxy to cut any of this wood we wanted for boat building. As we are always on the lookout for crooks to make knees and breasthooks out of, Dirk took a gang of young stalwarts (Kimba, James, Dustin, Johnny, David, and Gabe) into the bush near the shore, scared off some lizards and cut away for a couple of hours. Foxy and Tess had a big old mahogany tree come down and that got cut up too. Hot work, maybe they had a cold beer at Foxy’s after. Not Johnny, he had a Ting. Ting is a refreshing grapefruit soda.

BVI is our last time shop for groceries too. Donald took brother Jon and Katie and got on the ferry to West End, Tortola and headed for the market. Don’t need much, but fresh stuff on a sea passage is always welcome. Dawson, Tammy and I got some shore time in. Dawson was literally in small boy heaven, if a small boy likes to swim in turquoise waters and find a conch and see pretty fish swimming around an old tree trunk in bay.

It always comes to time to sail. That’s the nature of a voyage, isn’t it?  Decks get put away. Boats get hoisted. Sea Never Dry up on deckhouse, the longboat in its davits, loose sail. Last goodbyes ashore on a quiet balmy day at Jost Van Dyke and we hove up and sailed away downwind south of the island, past White Bay with its brilliant beach and packed with day visitors from St Thomas reliving their glory days of spring breaks a long time ago. Loud and fun in the sun at White Bay, and a whole different world than cool serene Great Harbour, the last of the West Indies in the Virgin Islands for us. From West End Point, Jost Van Dyke, the course for Bermuda is North.

Still pushing. Rainy and squally. Not bad though. In the old days of my youth with all this rain we would be out in it with a bar of soap getting squeaky clean. But we have freshwater showers now so why bother… Trainee Sue is getting her ratline seizing done. Sue is a strong sailor.

Date: May 18,  2019

From: Jost Van Dyke, BVI, West Indies

Towards: St George’s, Bermuda

Noon position: 24°-20′ North Latitude / 063°-00′ West Longitude

Course and speed: SWly at 7.5 knots, motoring along

Wind force and direction: light SEly winds

Seas/swell: steady organized ENEly seas 1 metre

Barometer: 1020 and steady

Sky: rainy and overcast

Water temperature: 26.5C – 80F

Distance made good in 24 hours: 164 nautical miles

Distance to the next port: 467 nautical miles as the Pole Star pulls

Wind petered out this morning and was light all night. At 1000 Engineer Deyan fired up the main engine and we are pushing. Weather is perfectly nice, just light winds. Crew are sanding and painting the chart house. Dirk is making a plank for ANN, the 16′ Palmerston Atoll cutter we are restoring. Lists are getting finished for Lunenburg. Sailmaking is ongoing on the quarterdeck. Navigators are still with sextant in hand. Erin is leading lessons in charts and piloting. We bought 700 eggs in Grenada and we are eating them.

Date: May 17,  2019

From: Jost Van Dyke, BVI, West Indies

Towards: St George’s, Bermuda

Noon position: 21°-39′ North Latitude / 063°-27′ West Longitude

Course and speed: SWly at 7.5 knots, motoring along

Wind force and direction: light SEly winds

Seas/swell: steady organized ENEly seas 1 metre 

Barometer: 1019 and steady

Sky: sunny, partly cloudy, very nice

Water temperature: 26.5C – 80F

Distance made good in 24 hours: 76 nautical miles

Distance to next port: 639 nautical miles in a straight line. But, of course, we are not sailing in a straight line.

With the Saintes and Nevis well astern we kept sailing for the British Virgin Islands and Jost Van Dyke. At dawn, the day came in cloudy and warm. Wind was fair on the starboard quarter, seas modest. On the misty horizon ahead we could see the tips of the many Virgin Islands, so named by Columbus a long time ago after St Ursula and her 11,000 virgins. I have no idea who St Ursula and the girls were. But it sure looks like a lot of islands as we approach. And then it becomes clear that there are fewer as the multiple peaks turn into one island or so. Still plenty islands though. From the east we see Virgin Gorda, Ginger, Cooper, Salt, Deadman’s Chest, Tortola, Peter Island, Norman Island and the US island of St John towards the west. St Thomas is off in the distance and out of view.

Into Sir Frances Drake Channel we slip in to Salt Island Passage at about 0830 and sail almost over the wreck of the RMS Rhone, a famous wreck of a big iron steam and sail mail ship lost in a hurricane in 1867. A horrific loss at the time. Hurricane Irma was a reminder of how bad a hurricane can be hereabouts. Once past Salt Island and Deadman’s Chest (yep, that’s its name) we squared the yards for the run down the channel between the islands. Many bare-boats sailing or motoring around. For reasons we do not understand many of these sloop rigged catamarans under charter seem to prefer to motor downwind instead of unfurling a big genoa and sailing along quietly. A mystery. 

The Picton Castle sailed gently down Sir Francis Drake Channel pointing out various islands and anchorages and introducing a bit of history. Piracy, free-ports, sugar, slaves, rum, terrible tropical diseases of yore, islands changing flags with frequency, the post-colonial era. The islands are dry. They seemed scoured from Hurricane Irma. But rebuilding well underway it seems from afar. Soon enough we came up to the narrow pass at Soper’s Hole and West End Tortola. This we need to negotiate to get to the north of Tortola and to Jost Van Dyke’s Great Harbour. The gang braced up on the starboard tack and remained at the braces and for quick sail handling. Chief Mate Erin took the wheel and sailed the ship through this dog-leg slot without using the engine. Then it was only three and a half miles to Jost. With all sail trimmed just so, Erin sailed the ship right up to the anchor. With some swift sail handling and backing of the main yards to stop the ship from hitting the island,  we let the anchor go in four fathoms and backed the ship down under main topsails until the hook got a good hold. Clew up and furl the sails. The passage was done. Next, launch the longboat and the beautiful Lunenburg/Senegal Dory known as Sea Never Dry. Jost Van Dyke is about as good as it gets for ambitious small boat sailing.

Two days after sailing due north from St George’s, Grenada, the small group of islands known as “the Saints” lay on the horizon ahead. The Picton Castle had sailed past Bequia, St Vincent, St Lucia, Martinique and Dominica to make for the charming Saints. A decent passage it was. In the lee of the bigger islands winds died down even though these islands were almost 40 miles away. In the lee of the passages between islands both the winds and seas picked up again. Just about 0800 we closed with the narrow pass that would lead us into a nice anchorage off Terre De Haute. Anchor down, skiff in straight away to get cleared in as quickly as possible. We wanted to make the most of this short stop. Time is running out and we must get north to Lunenburg for June 1. Hard to imagine that after more than a year and over 30,000 miles that we are in a hurry now.

Back to Les Saintes…

Once anchored Tammy and Dirk scooted into the town, got us cleared in (and out) the free watch went ashore. Terre De Haute is a beautiful small town, on a sweet little bay, once a sleepy small French West Indian fishing village, now, while still fishing, very much a destination for travelers coming from Guadeloupe and, no doubt, France. And thus plenty of shops, cafes, restaurants and so on. The beach in town is clean and welcoming. Excelent dinghy docks. A perfect place to do nothing at all. Not cheap though. The Euro has made its claim here. So, the gang wandered through the village, enjoyed French style and French island dining. Some walked the half mile over the island to a beach on the windward side. Some found places to snorkel. Picnics with baguettes and cheese and salmon made lots of sense. Dawson found a beach right near the fish cleaning station and a grocery store so he and his family spent most of a day there in the shade of an almond tree listening to French reggae music and watching people going by. The very definition of “limin”. Then we sailed NW for the British Virgin Islands. And Jost Van Foxy’s. From here we will sail north for Bermuda and out of our beloved tradewinds and tropics into the North Atlantic.

The Picton Castle gang sailed the ship off the hook from Terre de Haute, Les Iles Des Saintes, Guadeloupe and got all canvas on in the channel between Guadeloupe and Terre de Haute. A sweet sunny Caribbean day. We made our way NW along the lee drawing away from this big island for awhile and shaped up to sail along the many islands over the horizon but nearby. Montserrat, St Kitts, Statia, Saba and Nevis all lay up ahead. Along our course for the British Virgin Islands and Jost Van Dyke, to which we are bound, we would be passing by the smaller Islands of the Leeward Islands of the Eastern Caribbean. Out of sight would be Antigua, Barbuda, St Barts, St Martin, and Anguilla. But we would sail close to Montserrat, Nevis, St Kitts, Statia (St Eustatia) and Saba.

Overnight found us in the lee of Monsterrat. A small high island with an Irish and African heritage. And also equipped with a live volcano which blew some years ago causing destruction and evacuations. As we sailed to leeward of it we could smell the sulfur coming from the vent. Some years back we even got fine volcanic grit dusting the ship. This time just the odor from the firey deep. Smelled bad. On we sailed.

As a way of introduction to the islands before we arrived in the Caribbean, the crew all watched a wonderful film called “Vanishing Sail”. This is a documentary on traditional boat building on the island of Carriacou, part of the nation of Grenada. It is a lyrical and poignant tale beautifully, artfully told by Alexis Andrews of Antigua. And Alexis was at Nevis with his Carriacou built 42′ wooden sloop Genesis after a big sailing regatta in St Barts for West Indian built vessels. I was trying to get him to sail to the BVI with us. Maybe take our gang for some sails once there? Too far for him to get back to Antigua but as we were sailing right by Nevis, why not just have a rendezvous in the lee of Nevis? Great Idea. And right on the way.

At dawn, we could easily see the tall dark cone that is Nevis, the top lost in cloud. Nevis is famous for being the birthplace of Alexander Hamilton of early American fame. I remember the days when these big 60-70 foot open lighters sailed back and forth between Nevis and St Kitts across the small passage. They carried everything, food, cargo, beer, people, empty bottles back to St Kitts. Big rough old open sloops, but very effective at their trade.
A bright blue morning was upon us. Once under the lee of Nevis in smooth waters, we saw Genesis in the distance off Charlestown. In short order, we hove the Picton Castle to by bracing the main yards aback. Launched the skiff and under Dirk took a replacement crew of three to Genesis. Picked up Alexis and his son – they came over for a “gam”, breakfast and a short visit. Alexis told the crew something about wooden boat building in Carriacou. 30 to 60 foot and bigger, sloops and schooners used for trading to Trinidad and Grenada and smuggling from St Barts and St Martin. And fishing and for just getting about. In the 1970s 50-foot sloops without engines were still one of the main ways to get back and forth between Grenada and Carriacou for goods and people. Wonderful vessels they were. And from to time, another gets built over at Windward in Carriacou.

Well, places to go, things to do. Genesis off to Antigua, Picton Castle bound for Jost Van Dyke, BVI. We called Genesis closer and made the crew switch, hoisted the skiff and we sailed our separate ways. Both vessels “vanishing sail’, each in their own way. A fine West Indian rendezvous.

Onward…
(photo credits: Alexis Andrews)

After 29 days at sea from St Helena and a sweet few days in the nearby sister island of Carriacou, the Picton Castle sailed the 32 nautical miles to St George’s, Grenada. We sailed off the hook and the crew had a lesson in sailing among the islands close to land. Very different from deep-sea sailing. Snappy sail handling and careful steering become critical. Without the engine we sailed away from Hillsborough, past Tyrell Bay, across the ocean passage, past Kick’em Jenny rock and soon under the lee of the high, well-forested island of Grenada. Winds became light around Gouyave but we managed to get anchored off St George’s by about 1530 for a three-day stay.

The gang had all been encouraged to get a proper day tour of the island as there is so much to see: spice plantations, cocoa plantations, a sugar factory still from the late 1700s, rum shops (they don’t just sell rum), carnival preparations, walking around the Carenage, Carib Leap, bustling Grenville, checking out the colourful shops at the old market, gain some practice in the art of “limin”, showers at the Grenada Yacht Club and a big barbeque at Chief Cook Donald’s house at Belmont. Presents for friends and family. I got the chance to visit with my old friend and former boss Mr. Bones. Bones was head shipwright at the local shipyard back in the 1970s when we used to repair the wooden vessels in Grenada in the lagoon, at the current location of Port Louise Yacht Marina. A great man, who taught me so much. There would likely be no Picton Castle without him.

Back on the ship we were some busy. This was our first major port since Cape Town for getting needed things done. And the last one before getting back to Lunenburg. Diesel fuel; needed 7 tons. Big food shopping to be done, the cupboards were getting empty. Lots of fresh fruit and veggies to be had. Laundry is a must. This and that from the hardware store. Almost all our propane bottles for the stove in the galley were empty. A visit to the huge lumber yard to get ship woods for doing work; greenheart, purple heart, silverbali and so on. Anyone with an interest in wooden boat building would drool at Concord’s massive lumber yard. Can’t wait to go back. Grenada is a remarkably effective place to get almost anything done and we got done everything we needed.

After some difficulty getting a berth at the big ship dock – lots of container ships coming and going – we got alongside Saturday morning to load our fuel. The next morning our good pilot Captain Joseph boarded just around dawn, we loosed sail and sailed away from the dock and out the harbour entrance. Braced up sharp and steered by the wind and northerly bound for the Saintes.

Just now we are sailing along about 40 miles west of Saint Lucia (pronounced Sint Loosha) under all sail. Looking to getting anchored at the Saints tomorrow early AM. Then bound for the BVI and Bermuda.

Let the island hopping begin! We sailed into and up the anchor off Hillsborough, Carriacou four days ago after 3,700 miles and 29 days at sea sailing from St Helena and went straight into Island mode again. Carriacou is a lovely quiet place rich in history and a good friend to the Picton Castle. While the duty watch looked after the ship, the free watches sought out beaches, little snack shops, reggae music, swimming and exploring this enchanting isle. We arrived just in time for the Maroon Fest, a celebration of Carriacou heritage with a natural emphasis on the island’s African forbears. Carriacou is well known for being in excellent touch with the African connections of long ago. Dancing in the street, great music, food, and plenty of cold drink. A little carnival it was. Then off to Mama Joy’s at Paradise Beach. And go check out boat building at Windward before dropping in at the beautiful Bayaleau Spice Isle Cottages (an amazing place to stay – peace!!!) to let the breeze cool us off. We sailed off the hook this morning about 0900. Noon found us off Kick ‘Em Jenny, a rock just north of Grenada, famous for rip-snorting currents and an underwater volcano.  Soon come we will anchor off St George’s.  And head ashore again. We have much to do as well: laundry, fill gas bottles, provision up, buy lumber, fuel up if we can, and lots of sailing in the Monomoy.

Date:  May 1, 2019

From: Carriacou, Grenada, West Indies

Towards: St Georges, Grenada, West Indies

Noon position: 12°-17′ North Latitude / 061°-39′ West Longitude

Course and speed: SWly at 6-7 knots under all plain sail

Wind force and direction: force 4-5 Easterly winds

Seas/swell: steady organized ENEly seas 1 metre

Barometer: 1019 and steady

Sky: sunny, partly cloudy, very nice, a bit hazy

Water temperature: 27.3C – 81F

Distance made good in 24 hours: not much Distance to next port: 15 nautical miles from noon, total of 32 from Hillsborough to St George’s

A good day at sea today. We had a discussion on the nature of Grenada and the islands last night. Tonight we will see the amazing film by Alexis Andrews about wooden boat building in Carriacou. The building of 40 and 50 sloops for fishing, trading (and smuggling at one time) and also schooners. I sailed in these vessels as a young guy. The film is called Vanishing Sail and it is lyrical and priceless.

Date:  April 25, 2019

From: St Helena Island, South Atlantic Ocean

Towards: Grenada, West Indies

Noon position: 09°-11′ North Latitude / 058°-17′ West Longitude

Course and speed: NWly at 5-6 knots under all plain sail

Wind force and direction: force 3+ easterly winds

Seas/swell: steady organized ENEly seas of 1-2 metres

Barometer: 1017 and rising

Sky: sunny, partly cloudy, very nice

Water temperature: 27.3C – 81F

Distance made good in 24 hours: 132 nautical miles

Passage log: 3,428 nautical miles

Voyage log: 25,230 nautical miles

Distance to next port: 257 nautical miles as the lads and lasses have our tow-rope

Very broad squall this morning at dawn ushering in an overcast day. Clothes set to soak for a big washing later. Soon a talk on the islands and what is to come. Planks getting cut for ANN, the boat we’re restoring aboard. New life ring holders getting welded on. Small jobs everywhere. Liz is in the galley as Donald’s assistant for the week to learn some of his magic. Making good time and am hoping for a weekend landfall. But never count your chickens before they hatch….

Date: April 23, 2019

From: St Helena Island, South Atlantic Ocean

Towards: Grenada, West Indies

Noon position: 07°-07′ North Latitude / 053°-16′ West Longitude

Course and speed: NWly at 7-8 knots under all plain sail

Wind force and direction: force 4+ NEly winds

Seas/swell: steady organized NEly seas of 2-3+ metres

Barometer: 1016 and rising

Sky: light overcast, cloudy, warm

Water temperature: 27.3C – 81F

Distance made good in 24 hours: 172 nautical miles

Passage log: 3,135 nautical miles

Voyage log: 24,937 nautical miles

Distance to next port: 556 nautical miles as the winds and currents pull us along