The night of the long knives: A Caribbean adventure

Transcription

1 The night of the long knives: A Caribbean adventure Chiquita s Log Book December 2007 By Katherine and Steve Jones

2 The night of the long knives: A Caribbean adventure By Katherine and Steve Jones This is the log of Chiquita, a Dufour 385, during a two week charter to the Windward Islands in December The total passage was 265 miles from Martinique to St Lucia, St Vincent, the Grenadines and back to Martinique. Katherine s log: First week in paradise Day 1 Sunday 16 th December 2007 Weather: 28 0 C, wind E knots, overcast with occasional squalls Port: Marin Marina, Martinique Position: N W Destination: Marin Marina, Martinique Position: N W Distance: 9 miles Log: I awoke to the smell of fresh bread and croissants, a lovely reminder that I was on holiday at last, this time in the French Caribbean on Martinique. We d arrived the night before, just in time to watch people have their last drink on board their yachts as we walked up the pontoon. We d really treated ourselves this time to a Dufour 385 and with three double cabins and two heads it was sheer luxury for a crew of two! After the obligatory briefing, provisioning and renting scuba tanks, we had a couple of hours of daylight left so decided to go for a quick sail in the bay. Chiquita sailed beautifully downwind, doing 6 knots under genoa only. Even close hauled with a reefed main and partly furled genoa, we made good progress. I love these steady warm trade winds I thought as we surged along until the black cloud over Martinique started heading our way at a rate of knots and we were hit by a 37 knot massive squall. Leaving Marin Marina, Martinique Release the main! I screamed at Steve as I held onto the wheel and watched the guardrail go under water and the dinghy on the foredeck take off over the side. Oh s***! I thought; that s all we need on day one, to lose the dinghy! Fortunately the painter held and we managed to get it back on board. Lesson 1 tie everything down. Lesson 2 keep a look out for squalls.

3 Our first day on board is always a little stressful with colourful language as we test ourselves and the boat, and realise who s best at doing which job. When it comes to berthing an almost new 38 foot yacht in a miniscule space with a headwind of 25 knots, my husband is definitely the skipper! Day 2 Monday 17 th December 2007 Weather: 30 0 C, wind E knots, scattered clouds, blue sky Port: Marin Marina, Martinique Position: N W Destination: Marigot, St Lucia Position: N W Distance: 34 miles Log: On the recommendations of friends and the charter company, we decided we d head south to St Lucia and then onto the Grenadines. The Windward Islands lie in a north-south chain and so sailing between them is usually a beautiful beam reach as the trades are from the east. The British fleets would always sail in the lee of the islands, hence their name the Windwards. We had an early start, filled up with fuel and then headed south. Two reefs in the main and a partly furled genoa and we still did 7 knots. Great boat with my best friend on board, the autohelm. This is my kind of sailing I thought, fast, exhilarating and hot! Beats the grey Mersey any day. There was a pretty big 3 to 4m swell between the islands as the Atlantic rolls towards the Caribbean undeterred for 3000 miles, but with a couple of Stugeron all was well. We sailed south past Rodney Bay, the destination for the 235 yachts or so that cross the Atlantic each December as part of the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers. It doesn t look big enough for 250 ARC boats I thought but I guess they don t all arrive at once. And finally at 2pm, after 6 hours sailing, we reached Marigot, a well-hidden and sheltered inlet half way down St Lucia. Marigot Bay We are still not too confident about our anchoring technique so always have to get on the snorkelling gear and have a look at it. Wonderful when its in a turquoise sea in the Caribbean. Maybe when we get our own boat and have to sail in Britain, we ll just buy a very big anchor! A pina colada and rum punch in a waterside bar, watching the sun go down, ended a perfect day.

4 Day 3 Tuesday 18 th December 2007 Weather: 30 0 C, wind E knots, overcast with occasional squalls Port: Marigot, St Lucia Position: N W Destination: Marigot, St Lucia Position: N W Log: Apart from being a beautiful place, the other reason for going to Marigot was for the diving. St Lucia has some of the best diving in the Caribbean and we were not disappointed. We joined the local dive boat so we could go out to the wreck of the Lesleen, a 50m freighter that sank in 1986 in 25m of water. Fantastic visibility and teeming with fish, it was a superb dive. We were able to swim inside the wreck and watch our bubbles form silvery pools of air on the ceilings above us. It s a Leaving Marigot Bay with the Black Pearl! bit weird watching yourself in an underwater mirror as you swim along 20 m down. In the afternoon we spotted a lovely looking yacht with a Welsh flag coming into the Bay. With a name like Jones and feeling very sociable, we thought we had a good enough reason to dinghy over and make their acquaintance. It turned out to be a very good move as they had some excellent red wine on board and some great stories to tell about their recent Atlantic crossing Day 4 Wednesday 19 th December 2007 Weather: 27 0 C, wind E knots, overcast with occasional squalls Port: Marigot, St Lucia Position: N W Destination: Admiralty Bay, Bequia Position: N W Distance: 64 miles Log: In 2004 we spent two weeks cruising St Vincent and the Grenadines and it was truly beautiful. One of our favourite islands was Bequia so we decided to head further south again and get there in one day. The first 16 miles was in the lee of St Lucia and with only 7-8 knots of breeze there was no choice but to motor. But as soon as we rounded the southern tip, it was back to the usual easterly trades of knots. Big swell, reefed sails and another cracking beam reach.

5 We headed south past St Vincent, an island of towering mountains, dense green forest and waterfalls. St Vincent s steep and wild terrain was the last to be settled by Europeans, and whilst Columbus sailed through the islands, St Vincent was inhabited by the Caribs. Wallilabou Bay on St Vincent is where Pirates of the Caribbean was filmed and you can still see the film set as you sail by. South of St Vincent on the home strait to Bequia, we had big seas and a little exciting surfing as Steve let out more sail when I went below to check our position. I d hear the creaking of sheets as they were slightly eased and then the call of Just got 10.2 knots! I thought we were slightly mad surfing down the waves until I saw a real madman zooming towards us in a tiny inflatable. Not only was he stood up but he had a camera as well! It turned out to be Kenmore Henville who makes his living taking photos of arriving yachts. With his full body harness attached to the front of the rib, he can lean back and take fabulous shots. Approaching Bequia in 25 knots. Photo Kenmore Henville We anchored in Admiralty Bay close to the Gingerbread Restaurant and watched the most beautiful sunset. Red sky at night, sailors delight so good weather tomorrow.

6 Day 5 Thursday 20 th December 2007 Weather: 30 0 C, wind E knots, blue sky with few clouds Port: Admiralty Bay, Bequia Position: N W Destination: Admiralty Bay, Bequia Position: N W Distance: 0 miles Log: Bequia never disappoints and just as I remembered, we were woken by the sound of a local entrepreneur offering fresh banana bread to the yachties. It was a beautiful day and after more banana bread than was good for me, we decided to stay for the day in Bequia and go diving on the Devil s Table. This is a reef just outside the bay with a prominent west cardinal on it. Very convenient for us as we The anchorage in Bequia needed to take our dinghy to get to the dive site and the cardinal is a perfect mooring post. It s just a little further than one would like to go in a pathetic dinghy whose outboard can hardly pull the skin off a rice pudding let alone two divers and diving gear. So we took the oars with us. The rest of the day was focused on food. Fresh avocados bursting with flavour, succulent chicken cooked to perfection with rice and peas, a spectacular view over the bay and one of the best pina coladas I ve ever had. If you ever go there, eat in Tantie Pearl s Restaurant full of locals and highly recommended. Bequia sunset

7 Day 6 Friday 21 st December 2007 Weather: 29 0 C, wind E knots, blue sky with few clouds Port: Admiralty Bay, Bequia Position: N W Destination: Brittania Bay, Mustique Position: N W Distance: 13 miles Log: We had a morning dive with Dive Bequia on the Boulders. As the name implies it s a dive through massive boulders on the southern tip of the island. It s a maze of rock arches, canyons and caves all covered in lovely corals and reef fish. We even saw a tiny seahorse, about 6cm long a rare find. Time to go sailing though, the ocean was calling, so we headed further south and east to Mustique. Mysterious Mustique is unique among the Grenadines. It s a privately owned island and has holiday homes for the wealthy. We are talking seriously wealthy. Think Princess Margaret, Mick Jagger, Raquel Welch, David Bowie. Brittania Bay is the perfect anchorage with a turquoise sea, great snorkelling and the famous Basil s Bay not far away. We had to sample the cocktails at Basil s and engage in a bit of celebrity spotting. The only trouble is, neither Steve nor I are likely to recognise a celebrity even if they were to walk under our nose as we don t take much notice of their world! Apparently Liz Hurley was on the island but if she was in Basil s we missed her! Basil s Bar on Mustique Steve s log: The night of the long knives Day 7 Saturday 22 nd December 2007 Weather: 32 0 C, wind E knots, perfectly clear blue sky Port: Brittania Bay, Mustique Position: N W Destination: Chateaubelair, St Vincent Position: N W Distance: 33 miles Log: We left Mustique at heading back to Admiralty Bay in Bequia where we had to go to the customs to check out of the Grenadines. We were planning to go to St Vincent, have one quick overnight stop in the north of the island and then head to St Lucia early the following morning. The two hour passage started

8 perfectly, and with the wind at 140 degrees, Chiquita was flying with full main and genoa, making a good 7 to 8 knots. The story changed though as we rounded the west tip of Bequia to come in to Admiralty Bay, now head to wind. As time was short, we dropped sail and motored in. We dropped the hook half a mile off the main town and I quickly headed off into town to complete the customs formalities. Within the hour we were lifting the anchor again ready to set off to St Vincent. The passage between the islands was easy with a 20 knot wind on the beam, but as we came into the lee of St Vincent just north of Kingstown, we lost the wind and had to motor sail up to Chateaubelair our chosen anchorage for the night. The dream anchorage in Chateaubelair! Chateaubelair is the last and most northerly good anchorage before the 30 mile passage to St Lucia. Doyle s Windward Islands Cruising Guide (2003-4) describes the anchorage as a dream in settled weather and the local people as being naturally friendly in the nicest way. There was one other large yacht at anchor, around 150m away from us in deeper water. The weather was very settled and hot, the night was clear and there was a full moon. We made a fantastic dive during the afternoon off the most western point of Chateaubelair Island, in clear deep water. That night we ate on board and retired early at after a long day. Sunset at Chateaubelair, 6 hours before Hell!

9 Day 8 Sunday 23 rd December 2007 Weather: 32 0 C, wind E knots, perfectly clear blue sky Port: Chateaubelair, St Vincent Position: N W Destination: Young Island, St Vincent Position: N W Distance: 16 miles Log: The boat was secure, except for the front cabin hatch, above our berth, which was letting in a gentle breeze. It all happened so quickly. Thirty minutes after midnight three armed men, two of them with machetes and one with a hand gun, boarded our yacht. I awoke to the first man jumping down through the hatch. I dived on top of him and a fight began. The second man was quickly down behind him and was hitting me from behind. Later I discovered he was hitting me with a machete. The fight stopped fairly quickly when I felt the machete pressing into my throat. I knew I was beaten. The men attacked me with considerable force, leaving six minor cuts, three lacerations on my back and two deep head wounds that later required stitching. After the initial struggle, I was held with the machete to my throat in the front cabin while Katherine was taken naked into the main cabin by the other two men. They demanded money. They were extremely aggressive and during our 20-minute ordeal repeatedly threatened to kill us and to rape Katherine. When one starting making advances towards her, I tried to get up to help, but was pushed back with a gun pressed to the middle of my forehead. They finally, for reasons we ll never know, left very quickly, making their escape by rowing boat, and vanishing into the darkness. They took nearly a $1,000 US in various currencies, plus a watch and a mobile phone, but left a laptop computer, binoculars, cameras and other valuables, which were all in open view. Before they left, they ordered us to sail from the anchorage immediately to head north, towards the neighbouring island of St Lucia and not south, towards people, the authorities and help. If we didn t obey their orders, they threatened to shoot at the boat and track us down. After five minutes we quickly started the engine, pulled up the anchor and made our escape out of the bay, with all lights blazing. We headed north, as instructed, but once around the corner and out of sight of the bay we switched all the lights off and ran south towards help. At 0110 Katherine made a Mayday call which was answered on the second attempt by John and Sue Allison, an English couple on board Swagman, a Hanse 461 yacht, which was anchored in Wallilabou Bay some five miles south of us. It s hard to describe the relief we both felt on hearing John s calm voice on the radio. It was friendly and reassuring. As we motored south to join

10 them, John called the police and Coastguard on our behalf on his mobile phone. Ironically, Wallilabou Bay is also where several scenes from the Disney film, Pirates of the Caribbean, were shot on location. As we came around the headland into Wallilabou Bay, we saw Swagman with every available light blazing and John directed us to raft up alongside. They were tied to a buoy with a long line running from the stern to a coconut palm on the beach. We all shared big hugs, then in typically British fashion, followed the crisis by brewing cups of tea while Sue cleaned up my head wounds. John and Sue had just completed an ocean crossing from the Canaries with the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers. Within 30 minutes the St Vincent Coastguard boat arrived with blue lights flashing in an old but fast RIB. After listening to the attack details, and checking out what little evidence was left (a cigarette packet with possible fingerprints and a fairly distinctive cap), we left John in charge of our yacht and were whisked off in the RIB at 50 knots to Kingstown town and the hospital. We spent three hours in the hospital, where I received excellent treatment and then 10 hours with the police, Coastguard and CID giving statements during the rest of the day. By 1030 on Sunday morning, only 10 hours after the incident, a meeting had been set up with the Minister for St Vincent, the island s Minister for Tourism, Police Chief, and the heads of CID, Coastguard and Rapid Response Unit, plus various deputies. They were all very concerned for our welfare and were ready to offer anything to help and support us. It was clear they were taking the incident extremely seriously and intended to do something about it very quickly and effectively. The Coast Guard took us back to Chiquita at Wallilabou and then we immediately set off motoring south to Young Island Cut, where there were a lot of other boats moored and the Coastguard regularly patrolled all night, keeping a watchful eye on us. We had dinner on board and retired at having been up for 20 hours and amazingly we slept well. The anchorage at Young Island Cut

11 Day 9 Monday 24 th December 2007 Weather: 29 0 C, wind E knots, scattered clouds, blue sky Port: Young Island, St Vincent Position: N W Destination: Soufriere, St Lucia Position: N W Distance: 48 miles Log: Christmas Eve, we were up at first light (05.30) desperate to head north away from St Vincent, to Soufriere in St Lucia and paradise. We were underway by 6.00 motor sailing, once again in the windless lee of St Vincent. North, past Chateaubelair and hell, all the time hugging the coast, before sticking our nose out in the full force of the wind between the two islands. As recommended by Doyle, we put in 2 reefs and with a partially furled genoa, we slowly headed out of the lee wind. This passage is often very rough with large confused seas and winds that accelerate as they come around the north of St Vincent. Today however we were lucky, the sea was no more than 2 to 3m and although confused the wind rarely got above 20knots. We made a fast passage, covering the 48 miles in just under 7 hours. Approaching St Lucia the spectacular Pitons come into view, 2 very obvious steep, cone shaped mountains. We passed under these and picked up a mooring buoy half a mile off the small town of Soufriere. We had planned back in England to have dinner at the Dasheene On passage from St Vincent, approaching the Pitons Restaurant in the Ladera Resort, a stunningly beautiful place set between the Pitons above Soufriere, but following the attack we decided to spend the night there as well. So we packed a small overnight bag with our best clothes, secured the boat and took a water taxi to the small town. First stop was customs and the police, both of which are conveniently located at the top of the jetty. Due to the attack, we were a day late and our papers from St Vincent showed that we should have arrived on the 23 rd. It was an easy explanation with a bandaged head and a supporting letter from the St Lucia police, intended for our insurance company, the formalities were quickly competed. We hopped in a waiting taxi and 15 minutes later were checking in to Ladera and total paradise.

12 Ladera was voted the Caribbean s number1 small resort in The staff and General Manager Robert Stewart were fantastic; they treated us like royalty, upgraded us to their best suite with a private pool and delivered complementary Champagne. We d arrived in Heaven, and spent the day swimming, drinking Champagne and looking out between the Pitons to the yacht anchored in the bay below, a breathtaking view almost worth dying for! Our suite in the Ladera Resort We had seriously thought about flying home immediately after the attack, but the kindness of the St Vincent authorities, the excellent staff at Ladera and all the wonderfully friendly yachting folk we met persuaded us to stay, and we re glad we did. The view from our bed!

13 Day 10 Tuesday 25 th December 2007 Christmas Day Weather: 32 0 C, wind E knots, perfectly clear blue sky Port: Soufriere, St Lucia Position: N W Destination: Soufriere, St Lucia Position: N W Distance: 3 miles Log: It was hard leaving our new friends at the Ladera Resort but Christmas day saw us back on the boat. Still scared of being alone we made friends with a French boat next to us and were invited over for evening drinks. At though we were back aboard Chiquita, and with fond memories of the gourmet Dasheene restaurant, it was back to normality for us and another version of pasta in tomato sauce, but we were happy to be back on the boat fighting our demons and sleeping restfully, all be it aided by a few strong G&T s! Day 11 Wednesday 26 th December 2007 Boxing Day Weather: 30 0 C, wind E knots, perfectly clear blue sky Port: Soufriere, St Lucia Position: N W Destination: Jalousie, St Lucia Position: N W Distance: 2 miles Log: Early Boxing Day morning we took the dinghy into Soufriere, locked it up at the dock and met a pre-arranged taxi which took us the National Park office at the base of the Grand Piton. It took us 1.5 hours to get to the top, following a good trail, mainly in the shade, to two very spectacular viewing points over the whole of St Lucia and south to St Vincent, some 30 miles away. We were lucky, there was little cloud and the air was clear and with a cool breeze on top, we sat for 30 minutes and enjoyed the vista. The 1 hour down was hard on the knees and tired The view of the Petit Piton and the Ladera Resort from Grand Piton

14 legs, but we were soon back in the taxi, and back to Soufriere. That afternoon we made a short passage from Soufriere under the Petit Piton to pick up a mooring in Jalousie Bay directly beneath the Ladera resort and between the two Pitons. Anchoring is forbidden in this whole area as it is a protected marine park, and perfect it is too, with well preserved reefs and a lot of fish. That night, looking up at the lights of Ladera, we wished could have stayed there for a few more days, or perhaps forever! Day 12 Thursday 27 th December 2007 Weather: 27 0 C, wind E knots, scattered clouds, blue sky Port: Jalousie, St Lucia Position: N W Destination: Rodney Bay, St Lucia Position: N W Distance: 19 miles Log: We left Jalousie at the following morning in very fickle winds in the lee St Lucia. We sailed, then motored, sailed again, then motor sailed and finally gave up and motored into Rodney Bay, just as the wind picked up to a steady 25 knots, very frustrating. We anchored in the bay and took the dinghy into the marina, where we had to get some provisions, antibiotics for my wounds, and to check out, as the next day we would be heading north back to Martinique. The marina was full of ARC (Atlantic Rally for Cruisers) boats and we felt like we had left the peace and tranquillity of southern St Lucia and arrived in a bustling, noisy, and polluted world. We left as quickly as we could and motored a mile north to anchor off Pigeon Island at the very north of Rodney Bay. We were with a few other boats, enough to make us feel safe but still quiet and peaceful. The view from Pigeon Island over Rodney Bay

15 That afternoon we explored the old British fort on Pigeon Island and had a few cocktails and a very pleasant meal in the Jambe de Bois restaurant at the foot of the hill. That night back aboard it was clear the weather was changing dramatically and even in our protected anchorage we were regularly getting gusts of over 25 knots. The boat rolled and squeaked all night, but thankfully the hook was well dug in and we slept peacefully. Katherine s log: The last two days Day 13 Friday 28 th December 2007 Weather: 25 0 C, wind E knots, overcast with several squalls Port: Rodney Bay, St Lucia Position: N W Destination: St Anne, Martinique Position: N W Distance: 23 miles Log: The weather had definitely changed. The sky was grey, overcast, there were gusts of 30 knots and squalls, and this was in Rodney Bay. So it was back to two reefs in the main and a handkerchief genoa. It was only 23 miles but took 5 hours as we were on a close reach most of the time. The seas were big and breaking over the boat but with the faithful autohelm we could huddle under the sprayhood and keep dry. At least it was warm! On passage St Lucia to Martinique in 30 knots

16 Halfway between the islands we saw a pod of whales, blowing and breaching. One came very close to the boat and was about the same length. We also had dolphins on the bow for a while; they seemed to like the rougher weather. For most of the last week I d been on Squall Lookout, after our first day of a 37 knot gust. So when the black cloud over the southern part of Martinique started heading our way, Steve agreed to furl the genoa. The squall arrived in less than 3 minutes with wind of 35 knots and torrential rain only this time it did not blow over but stayed with us for the next 40 minutes. Visibility was down to a boat length and made worse by trying to peer through a plastic sprayhood or feel driving rain on your face. My plans of sunbathing on the deck were ruined! Finally we reached the shelter of St Anne, a small village south of Marin Marina where to eek out our holiday as much as possible we planned to stay the night. Sunset at St Anne s on the last night Day 14 Saturday 29 th December 2007 Weather: 25 0 C, wind E knots, overcast with rain Port: St Anne, Martinique Position: N W Destination: Marin Marina, Martinique Position: N W Distance: 4 miles Log: We had a deadline of returning the yacht by 9am so at 7am we were up and off. As we motored back to Marin and packed our bags, we both felt like we d had a really wonderful holiday. Despite the nightmare at Chateaubelair, it was still overall a fantastic two weeks. The fear was fading and our determination to realise our dream of sailing around the world was growing. We were sad to leave Chiquita as she had looked after us well but we knew we would be back. Our friends had just crossed the Atlantic in their 38 foot catamaran and were going to cruise around the Caribbean for a few months. So as we took off from Martinique, we started making plans to meet them in Antigua in late March for another two week trip..