Adventures of a Tribe

Sint Maarten to St Kitts

Posted on November 27, 2016

On Friday morning we went to check out of the marina and they told us that if we stayed one more night our bill would be $150 less because we’d then get the weekly rate. So, we did. We went ahead and checked out with customs and immigration, and returned to finish up projects on Tanda Malaika.

The following morning we said our goodbyes to the many friends we’d made with staff members and cruisers, and set out to the draw bridge which would be raising at 10:30am.

Many boats were lined up and ready to leave, and the wind was blowing at about 20 knots, which made sitting in one place difficult.

Before long we were on our way, and excited for the sail. We knew the wind direction was going to be in our favor for the first time in a long time, and were stoked for that.  While we were all out on deck working on fenders and lines, mischief was happening inside. The wind blew all the paper towel off the roll in the galley. It reminded me of when the creatures were little and unrolled the toilet roll.

Our sail was beautiful. We averaged 7 – 8 knots and the swells were around 2 meters. We passed St Eustatius, and the beautiful dormant volcano called The Quill, which stands 1,972 ft high. It is the second tallest mountain in the Netherlands and last erupted about 1700 years ago.

Shortly after that we heard the familiar zing on the fishing rod and just as Emma ran to grab it, we heard (the familiar) snap!

Something big had grabbed the lure and pulled all the line out and snapped it off. Danny and I agreed that we need bigger reels with more line. Even though we set the drag correctly, big fish are kicking our butts.

St Kitts looked so beautiful in the evening light, with gorgeous clouds and a rainbow. What a welcoming sight.

We had made it in 6 hours thanks to the consistent wind. Our plan was to anchor in a little bay close to customs check in.

Danny will be flying out on Monday for a couple days to transport the airplane to Venezuela, and will then fly back to us here. In the mean time, we’ll do some exploring.