French Clash

“I wonder whether that boat sees us” Mark remarked when we were sailing along St. Barth’s west coast nearing the capital Gustavia. A small boat under full sails was heading our way. As a matter of fact, he was on a collision course pointing straight at us and coming closer by the second. Irie was (also) under sail and on a starboard tack, which meant we had right of way. But, he was flying a French flag. And as far as stereotypes go, some of them are pretty close to the truth when it comes to the French. They don’t like to speak English, they anchor right on top of you when there is plenty of space in the bay and they don’t seem to follow (or know) “the rules”…

“I can’t believe this. He is not making any moves to avoid us!” Mark started considering the options. We had been fine and peacefully on course with nicely trimmed sails for 11 hours! Frantically, I reeled the fishing line in. Even if the boat cut behind us, he would snatch our line and our last lure would be forever lost. Mark fell off and got out of the way. The Frenchman must have seen us, because he sat on the high side of his boat. When he came within a few yards, just missing our stern and waving with a big smile on his face, Mark yelled at him, in English. He basically explained how we had to change course for him, that we were on a starboard tack and he was on a port tack, that this was inconsiderate of him as a sailor. The guy did not quite understand what was going on, didn’t feel any guilt and did not speak any English. Until… he caught the word “idiot” coming out of Mark’s mouth. Now, that he did understand (the French word is pretty much the same) and he yelled: “I’m coming back for you!”

The next instant, he turned his boat 180° and came after us. Gulp! Luckily his boat was a bit smaller and a monohull. And, the wind picked up which sent us (and him) flying in the right direction, at least for us. He kept up pretty well and actually shortened the distance between us in his pursuit. Now what? Mark was getting nervous and demanded the jib to be perfectly attended to while he took care of the main sail. While it normally doesn’t matter too much that our sails are trimmed to perfection, all of a sudden we were part of an important race. With the least change in wind, I adjusted the jib and Mark did the same with the main. Back and forth, in and out, slightly so.

A big vessel that looked like a cruise ship was entering the harbor to Gustavia, while all around us mega yachts were peacefully lying at anchor. We couldn’t afford going behind the giant and we had right of way, so we stuck to our course, passing in front of him, just in time, thanks to the consistent wind. Nobody seems to like giving way to others and our day was all of a sudden coming to a more exciting end than anticipated…

By this time, Irie had gained quite a bit of distance and our pursuer shrunk in size. He was still following and we contemplated sailing to our planned anchorage in Anse de Columbier, or making the already very long and tiring trip three miles longer by shooting for Ile Forchue. When we saw how busy Columbier Bay was, we chose for the rough, inhospitable but quiet island further away. We made it safely there, having shaken off our chaser, but we were kept awake all night by incredibly strong and loud wind gusts. Take note: you do pay a price for calling somebody and idiot, even when he is just that!

The Wirie Crew Assembled in the Caribbean

On April 26^th 2010, Mark’s brother Tim and his wife Kristen were scheduled to land in St. Maarten at 2:15 pm. We had been looking forward to their visit for a couple of years and were excited it finally happened. The weather predictions were pretty good and we planned a six day vacation with talks about the business (Tim is our Wirie partner in the States), swimming, walks on beaches, relaxing and lots of sailing…

When Mark checked the status of the expected American Airlines flight, it appeared to be cancelled! A big thunderstorm in Miami, our visitors’ stopover, prevented all planes from landing and taking there. Our visitors’ whole trip was up in the air, literally and figuratively, and we could only hope for the best. It worked and they did arrive in St. Maarten the same day, with a five hour delay and without luggage! Waiting in line and filing the necessary forms took another two hours of their precious vacation time. Around 10 pm, Mark, Darwin and I welcomed Tim and Kristen aboard Irie.

Since we had to wait for the luggage to arrive, plans changed a bit for the first day of their holiday. Instead of leaving the lagoon in the morning and exploring Friar’s Bay and Happy Bay, Mark and Tim had their big business meeting and the girls went shopping in Marigot, the capital of St. Martin. By late afternoon, the guys tried to obtain the arrived luggage, which proved to be a painful and inefficient two hour process. This is the Caribbean! They made it back on Irie right in time to catch the last bridge opening of the day on the French side. We did succeed to anchor in Grand Case before the sun set. In the evening, we tried the local BBQ shacks (lolos) for dinner, something Mark and I came to like. Unfortunately, the over-cooked food, depletion of choices and unfriendly service made an end to that tradition.

On Wednesday, a short, pleasant sail brought us to Tintamarre, where a pod of sleeping dolphins drew our attention. This is the first time we noticed these wonderful animals being totally motionless, just floating under and above the surface. Free mooring balls in the anchorage made our stay easy and a swim to the beach rewarded us with remoteness and white sand. A path leads to the windward side of this deserted island, where the water was lukewarm, protected by the reefs. Snorkeling around the rocks was fair and tiresome because of a strong current. The water was as clear as the sky.

From Tintamarre we had a slow sail to Anse du Columbier in St. Barth. Since the plotted course was straight into the wind, we needed a few tacks and a lot of time to reach our destination. We had lunch underway and the last half hour we decided to motor. Once settled on a free mooring ball, we could enjoy the peaceful surroundings, beautiful water and many sea turtles grazing around our boat. The rest of the afternoon and evening was quietly spent in the anchorage with a nice meal and good company.

Friday had arrived and since we planned two nights in Columbier, we had a whole day to enjoy the area. Kristen preferred to check out St. Barth’s capital Gustavia, so the four of us and Darwin walked the hot, but pretty trail towards the small village of Flamands. There, a taxi could get arranged to drive us into the town center of Gustavia. Tim and Kristen went shopping, while Mark, Darwin and I hung out in the shade of a gazebo, where free internet is available and where we ran into Chris from Gypsy Cat. It’s a small world! For lunch, the Kiltys walked to Shell Beach, where a fancy and attractive outdoor restaurant is located. Tim and Kristen treated us to a wonderful lunch and Darwin got offered a bowl of fresh water. After a sweaty walk back to the dinghy, our guests snorkeled and enjoyed the clear water and interesting sea life. Just like the previous nights, we were all tired and spent by 9pm after a day full of activity and strong sun, so we turned in early again.

The following day, the alarm clock got us going. A quick breakfast and the sails went up for a last sail back to Simpson Bay Lagoon. The wind was very light, which made the trip slow but relaxing. We had to hurry a bit in the end to make the 11:30am Dutch bridge back into our oh-so-familiar lagoon. During the afternoon, Tim, Kristen and I took a bus into Philipsburg for more shopping. At night, the couple took us out to a seafood restaurant along the water. The food was delicious and a huge spoil for the two of us. A very enjoyable, tasty and stress free last night wrapped up our family and Wirie meeting in the Caribbean.

Our Visit to St. Barth

We did it! We left St. Martin, without having to turn back, like many others who leave the lagoon after months and have some kind of boat problem from the moment they get “outside”. It was a close call, nevertheless…

On the last day of June, about a month later than hoped for, we arrived at Irie after one last errand that kept us in St. Martin until then. A certain “flower” in a certain Business made it her “point” to mess up another order that we expected there two (!) weeks prior. When we finally retrieved that envelop (the Wirie logo stickers), we were finally ready to leave. So, from the moment we possessed the prized envelop, we hoisted the dinghy and pulled up our main sail, only to discover that its shackle was broken… Ooops! Sail down, anchor back down, dinghy down and Mark on a mission. It was after 12 pm, so the stores were closed on the French side (lunch break). Mark rushed to the Dutch side, to scout the marine stores and –luckily- found the right size shackle. Our lunch was postponed and we were on our way again before 2 pm.

The goal was Ile Fourchue in St. Barth, but it was getting late. The first stretch went all right along the north coast of St. Martin, actually veering away from the island, tacking off the wind. When a huge squall was visible from the corner of our eyes, we made a wider turn, away from our destination, towards Anguilla. Not good. To prevent sailing back from where we came on the opposite tack, we decided to motor. The wind was not very favorable and time was running out. Just when we settled on spending the night at Tintamarre, a nice island east of St. Martin, the wind shifted North East. Hmmmm… That was a chance not to be missed and we changed course a slight bit to sail at a steady pace to Ile Fourchue after all. The last 2 miles, the wind died completely and we motored into another rain storm into the deep bay with free mooring balls, just before dark. We made it to St. Barth!

Ile Fourchue was nothing special, but gave us a good night’s sleep. The following morning, we sailed on to Anse de Columbier, a beautiful bay on the northwest side of “mainland” St. Barth and our favorite stop so far. Mooring balls are free to use, the water is as clear as in the Bahamas and the beach is wide, pretty and quite remote. The only way to get to Columbier is by boat or by foot. A 20-minute hiking trail brings you to this beach from a small town called Flamands. Mark, Darwin and I followed this trail in reverse a few times, to buy fresh baguettes and try to get online to deal with the Wirie website.

One evening, we got company from our friends Ellie, Tom and Jens on Madonna. It was awesome, to have drinks and dinner together, away from the oh-so familiar lagoon and exchange the few stories we gathered so far. They just finished a little sailing vacation to Tintamarre, St. Barth and Statia. In the morning we had a wonderful breakfast on the beach. We all felt like vacationers!

Another day, Mark and I decided to check out the capital Gustavia by boat. This big harbor is full of mooring balls and anchored vessels and is pretty deep. It took us an hour to find a place to safely anchor, a mile away from town. For this spot, we had to pay more than 12 euros (16 dollars), because the fees are calculated by surface area, and –yes- we are a catamaran, a little bit wider than most other boats. A mooring in front of Gustavia, deep into the harbor and close to all the conveniences and services was cheaper, but … none were available. The town does offer free showers for everybody and the port authority provides a garbage disposal and free WiFi, included in the fee. The WiFi signal, however, is weak at best and never reached the area called Corossal where we were anchored. For water one does have to pay nowadays.

Needless to say, if you know Liesbet and Mark (and their tight budget), we only lasted in Gustavia Harbor one night. We did utilize our time well with internet business and grocery shopping the first afternoon and a historical walking tour and filling our water tank the next morning. The tourist office provides nice maps and a written walking tour of town and that is the best way to see what there is to see. Mark and I walked along the harbor, to a couple of fort sites with good views and read about an array of historical buildings dating back to the time of the Swedes. Gustavia is a pretty city, clean and with a French attitude that is more than tolerable. Lunch in Le Select was the reward for a hot morning of walking – and to Mark – for a genuine effort to drag behind me and listen to the information in the brochure.

The same morning, we also walked across the island to St. Jean. The statue of an Arawak Indian at the roundabout represents all the symbols of St. Barth. The airport here is interesting in regards to the little planes that land over a hill and then practically drop down to the landing strip. An impressive act of competence and an awe-inspiring sight!

Since we were so fond of Columbier, we took our Irie back there. The wind was howling down the mountainsides and picking up a mooring ball became a huge challenge. In the process, we bent two boat hooks and lost one of them together with my hat. Lots of yelling. Not a good scene. But, we were still happy to be back in a peaceful harbor with a long beach for Darwin to enjoy.

In St. Barth, you can check out 24 hours before leaving the country. This meant, we had to go back to Gustavia for this event. We had been communicating with the agriculture department of Antigua, our next destination, about temporarily importing Darwin and things seemed to become more painful than we thought. Darwin has been totally in sync with the UK regulations and requirements for four years, but yet, for some countries that is not enough. He has a micro chip, all his health records and all the needed vaccinations. The last thing we read in an email from Antigua was that he needed a current health certificate, a rabies vaccination that is less than 1 year old (the one he has is good for three years and he is approaching 2 and a half years) and a performed lyme disease test, something we have never heard of or needed!

Instead of taking Irie back to Gustavia again, we chose the more adventurous option. We hiked to Flamands and hitched rides to town, with Darwin. There, the vet inspected our dog, proclaimed very healthy, and gave him a pet passport, with a current health certificate and the proof of another rabies shot in it. Price: $50. Armed with all the right paperwork and the thought that, if a test for lyme disease is really necessary it could be performed at our destination, we were ready for Antigua. The only thing between us and this popular island was a night crossing to the south east…