The Night of 100 Squalls: A Passage to St. Kitt's and Nevis

St. Kitts and Nevis

     The passage from BVI to St. Kitts was...frightful. From the start we pounded upwind as squall after squall poured on us. The night brought with it what I like to call "the fears," those irrational thoughts you just can't seem to stop while out at sea. I shivered in my bunk picturing all the bad things that could happen, wondering all the while why I was exhausting myself with these pointless thoughts. Jamie was a beacon of light throughout the passage, ever positive and laughing through the wind and rain. When the rest of us gave in to sleep and sickness he stood fast and helped Dad sail through the night. Lucky for me, aside from a bit of a drowsy stupor, Bonine kept the sickness away. Sarah was not so lucky. Why is it that time seems to slow down to an agonizing crawl when you least want it to? The night dragged on and on as walls of rain and wind hit us one by one. All I could do was wish for the light of day to come faster.

Basseterre

     Finally, in the early morning light, the rain cleared and Statia loomed mountainous in the golden glow. The sail along Statia to St. Kitts brought hope and wonder after the long night. Behind us, the green mass of Saba drifted in and out of sight in the mists. Statia stretched a few miles long, an oil storage depot perched one end and the town of Oranjestad spilling down a perfectly formed volcanic peak on the other end. St. Kitts shone green and fertile ahead as the rare beam of sunlight pierced the clouds. We sailed along the coast to Basseterre, the small capital city where buildings sit low and colourful and a long cruise ship dock ends at a series of duty free shops. The buildings of the city range from picturesque West Indian to British colonial to battered and boarded up. There is an intriguing and distinctive Caribbean feel to the city, a sense of a culture very different from the BVIs. We plan to rent a car to explore the island further and hike in the rainforests of the island's mountain range.

A starfish under the boat

I have to hurry because our internet time will run out, but I will write in more detail soon.
Nicole.