Mix it With Rum

After our fabulous trip last year, we had to do it again to see if it really is that great or it was just a fluke. So we reserved another boat on St. Martin and began the long wait for June 10 to get here.

The weekend before our flight on Tuesday, I hurt my back in my Sunday morning soccer game. It's my typical lower back spasm that needs to just run its course but it was a little worrisome happening this close to the trip. Luckily, massive doses of ibuprofen knocked it down pretty well.

The Moorings Base at Oyster Pond

We had an easy flight from Boston to JFK and then to St. Martin. We found our cab and got to the base at Oyster Pond at about 2:00. We checked in at the office and they said they would be ready for the chart briefing at about 3:00 so we had some lunch at The Dinghy Dock. The Pina Coladas were good but the fish and chips were just so-so. Still, hard to complain when you are just chillin' at a bar, at a Marina, in the tropics.

The Chart Briefing was so much better than last time. Partly because we had done it all so recently but also because Sebastian, the guy giving it this year was much less formal and gruff. No long PowerPoint, no arguing about whether or not she had just read the bullet, just a review of places we can and can't go, and things to watch out for.

We practically skipped back to the boat in comparison to the trip last year where we were so overwhelmed and wondering if we were in over our heads.

Anchored at Green Cay in Orient Bay

On the boat we had the boat briefing where again, it went smoothly. Sebastian didn't even mention taking the motor off the dinghy when sailing and I certainly didn't bring it up. Guess what - we put it on the first day and didn't take it off until the end. Boom! I think part of the reason for the abridged briefing was because we had just been there last year and on a virtually identical boat so there wasn't much to go over. We had a balky bilge pump switch that, when on automatic, didn't want to turn off when the boat was dry but we just put it on manual and checked the bilge each day so it was no big deal.

With the briefing done, we stowed the food and settled in for the evening. At home, we had been having fun making our own drinks instead of using the pre-mixed stuff and we had decided to continue the fun on the trip so we [ahem] laid in a pretty good selection of booze. We almost had a disaster though when we realized we had no ice. I went up the the office to get two of the four bags we were due but they were closed - oh no!

Luckily, there was still someone inside and they graciously opened up and let me get the ice. Cocktails saved!

The next morning we did our final paper work and got a few more provisions on board that were missing and got ready to cast off. To get away, they have a guy come on board and basically take the boat away from the dock and out into the marina basin to get you ready for the trip out the channel. The awkward part is that it's hard to know what we are supposed to do since he's kind of doing everything but he can't really cover it all. Because of this, when we raised the main, nobody had released the sheet so we started sailing in the harbor amongst all the boats. I had a brain fart, forgetting where the main sheet was controlled so we had a brief moment of panic until we remembered it was on the winch on top of the cabin. Phew!

There was much less wind on this day than on our first day last year so we had no roller coaster ride this time and we didn't put any reefs in the main. We followed him out about halfway through the markers and then waved goodbye. Again, we were a whole lot more calm this time and had a great sail around the top of the island to Grande Case.

We anchored at Grande Case and dinghied ashore to walk around and get a few things from the store. One of the things I had read about and wanted to try were the LoLo's - open air barbeque joints where the locals go for good, cheap food. There is a cluster of them right by the dinghy dock so we picked one and ordered chicken and ribs. We had a great Pina Colada while we waited but the meal itself was just meh. I had read varied reviews so maybe we picked a bad one but I wasn't that impressed.

We went back to the boat and then took the dinghy over to Creole Rock which is a popular dive spot. We snorkeled around a bit but didn't stay long. There was a particular type of fish that were really inquisitive (or used to being fed) who would swim right up to you and look you in the mask. It was almost like they had their little fins turned up saying "Hey, where's the food?" I had forgotten to bring the GoPro.

We had been looking forward to having dinner in Grande Case since last year because we had enjoyed it so much. We were torn with trying someplace new or hitting the same place that we loved so much last year. In the end, we decided to go to the same place and, unfortunately, it was a mistake. The atmosphere was still wonderful - a table right at the open wall, looking over the beach and the water - but the food was sub-par. We weren't going to have drinks (because we had plenty on the boat) but they said it was complimentary so what the heck. They didn't know how to make a Mai Tai so we ordered Margaritas. Awful. Virtually undrinkable.

We both got different styles of Sea Bass and they were okay but nothing special. All in all, disappointing.

The next day, we sailed back around the top of the island and anchored in Orient Bay next to Green Cay. This is a fabulous location because it's open to the ocean to the South East but the swells are blocked by the reef. The breeze and the sound of the waves on the reef are wonderful.

After our escapades last year with beaching and launching the dinghy in the surf, we decided to try a different, although slightly more awkward tactic this year. As I described last time, the southern end of Orient Beach is occupied by Club Orient - a Naturist resort. Well, the southern-most end of the beach is also protected by the reef and the perfect place to go ashore in the dink. Doing this however, means a long walk along the nude beach to get to the bars and shops on the northern end.

So we got in the dinghy and headed in. Since this end of the beach is also where Club Orient rents their boats, we couldn't beach the dinghy but we could anchor it in the shallow water with a few other dinghies so I dropped Deb on the beach and waded the boat out and dropped the hook.

Unbeknownst to me, the ziplock bag containing our money and phone had popped out of my pocket and was floating away but Deb spotted it and pointed me to it. Yikes!

As much as the nude beach may be out of the ordinary for most people, frankly, it's not a big deal and it quickly just feels like any other beach. Certainly we were more of a novelty than all of the nakies since we were in the minority by wearing our swim suits.

So, we ran the gauntlet successfully and did some walking and shopping. Deb found a wrap that she liked but we decided to have lunch back on board so we headed back.

Anse de Columbier on St. Barts

The next day, we set sail for St. Barts. We had a great sail to Anse de Columbier - our favorite cove from last year and grabbed a ball. There is no development here, just a great beach and great snorkeling.

The boat comes with a little tent-like wind scoop that fits over a hatch and is designed to catch the breeze and funnel it below for extra cooling. We deployed it last year but it always seemed to get blown out of the hatch when the wind overcomes the tension bars holding it in. Well, we set it up again this year and it was working fine. We got in the dinghy to go ashore and had just pulled away from the boat when a gust of wind blew the scoop out of the hatch and into the water. It looked like it was going to float long enough for us to motor over and get it but it suddenly filled with water and sank like a stone. Since we were anchored in about 15 feet of water, it was going to be a relatively deep dive for me to get it. Hmm.

We got back on the boat and I grabbed a mask, snorkel, fins, and the boat hook. I figured I wouldn't have to go as deep if I could use the boat hook to snag it. I got in the water and looked down and spotted it immediately, just laying on the bottom. This will be easy...

I dove down and was just able to reach it with the hook (it was a little deeper than I had thought) and started up. Well, that thing was like a parachute underwater and did not want to come up as fast as I wanted (and needed) to. I'm straining to pull this thing up and be able to get my head above water when BAM! my head hits the bottom of our boat. It had swung back over the dive spot and I had come up right under it. This blow to the head causes me to have a quick little panic that I'm going to get stuck under the boat so I drop the hook and kick out from under the boat to the surface.

Okay, I'm alive but I dropped both the scoop and the boat hook used to retrieve it and they are both sitting on the bottom mocking me.

Shit.

The beach at Columbier

I've got to get the boat hook since we need it to pick up moorings the rest of the week so there's nothing for it but to try and dive down and get it. This time I have to go all the way down of course.  I do the hyper-ventilation thing to get a full breath and head down. When I SCUBA dive, I have a really hard time equalizing the pressure in my ears and I have to go down really slowly and work really hard to clear them. No tank here so I have to just kick hard down, ignore pain in my head and try and reach the pole. I'm at my limit but I manage to grab it and shoot back up to the surface. W00t!

After I catch my breath, I go down again and snag the wind scoop and lug it to the surface as well. Equipment saved!

After that adventure, we finally make it to the beach and do some walking and shell searching. Dinner tonight is lasagne which turns out really great. After the disappointments of the on-shore meals, we are finding we like the onboard meals more and more.

The next days plan was to head down to Gustavia, the main town on St. Barts. It's the where the jet set stay and is the place we missed last year because we like Columbier so much. We dropped the mooring ball and, since it's just a mile or so down the coast, motored instead of sailed.

We can't take the charter boat inside Gustavia harbor (actually we can go in there, we just can't get a mooring there) so we need to anchor in one of the two main areas outside the harbor. We motor around each, trying to decide which one looks better in terms of open spots, calm water and depth. We finally settle on the area that Sebastian recommended and look for a spot. Compared to other places we've anchored, this place is crowded. I'm sure it gets worse but we were having a hard time deciding where to go. This was complicated by the fact that the water was much deeper than we'd anchored in before. More depth means more chain out which means more swing which means more room is needed. We finally found a good looking spot and got ourselves secure. I really backed down on the engine hard to make sure we were good and set before feeling good about where we were.

The plan was to take the relatively long dinghy ride into Gustavia harbor to clear in, get rid of some trash, and get some ice, bring it back to the boat, and then go back to explore and get some lunch.

The dinghy dock was crowded with dinghies so we pretty much just had to squeeze in and assume that anyone who needed to get out could work their boat around ours. We found immigration and completed the simple process of checking in and out for the next day. We got our ice and more lasagne from the local store and took it back to the boat and came back.

Looking for booty at Shell Beach

Walking around, it felt like the place was closed. There were people around but there were lots of places that were not open. Deb said it just didn't feel welcoming. We found a nice looking lunch place and had some mediocre ribs - again. I'd read and been told about Shell Beach which is, as you may expect, made entirely of shells. Deb was eager to do some collecting so we made the short walk to it. Of course there is a fantastic looking lunch place there - oh well. Despite the abundance of shells, Deb didn't find many she liked so after a while we headed back.

On the dinghy ride back to the boat, we came to the conclusion that we like Anse de Columbier much better than where we were now and it was just up around the bend. So, we pulled up the anchor and headed back to our favorite bay.

The next day we hiked a trail that goes up the mountain and gives some great views of the bay and then did more snorkeling and relaxing. We had thought about heading to Ile Forchue for the night - another deserted anchorage that we hadn't been to yet - but in the end decided to stay put and enjoy our spot.

At anchor at Ile Pinel in Orient Bay.

The next day we dropped the mooring and headed back up to Orient Bay. This time we were going to pick up a ball by Ile Pinel - a little island inside Orient Bay.

All of the mooring balls we have used so far have been the kind where the ball has a hollow center through which the mooring line is fed, ending in a loop. As you get to the ball, you grab the loop and pull it and the rope it's formed from, through the ball and up to the deck where you can tie a rope to the loop. The ball stays in the water since the rope slides through it.

When we got to Pinel, and approached the balls, there was no loop sticking up to grab with the hook. As I put the bow of the boat on the ball we had chosen and went forward to help Deb try to hook it, we found that there was just a heavy metal shackle laying flat on the top of the ball. There was no way to hook it with the boat hook so we drifted back off of it scratching our heads.

We circled around to the two other balls and found that they were the same. We figured we would try one more time so we inched up to another one but again, could not snag it. This however, is where our troubles began.

I had over shot the ball a little bit so as we stopped and started drifting back in the wind, we went over top of the ball. This is not really a big deal since it will usually just slide under the boat and pop back up on the other side. Not so in this case.

We were pointed downwind and not moving so it quickly became apparent that we were snagged on the ball.

Shit.

It looked like I was going to have to do some additional diving. The first thing I did was drop the anchor. If I was in the water and managed to get us unsnagged, I didn't want the boat to drift into the rocks that were just downwind from us.

I got out the mask and fins and threw a line overboard - again so if the boat stared drifting, I could hang on to it and get back onboard.

When I got in the water, I found that indeed, we were snagged on the ball. It was wedged in between the prop and the rudder, holding us just as nicely as you please. It was wedged such that the ball was on one side of the prop/rudder gap and the mooring chain was going back alongside the other side of the rudder. After looking at it, it seemed like if I could just push the mooring chain down past the bottom of the rudder and get it on the same side as the ball, it would come free and we would be off.

I swam down and tried to push the chain down but of course, the boat is pulling on the chain and I can't get enough leverage to force it down. It seems like it would be simple but the rudder is very long and the bottom of it is probably 6 feet below the surface.

Hmm, I really need to create some slack in the chain so it will drop down below the bottom of the rudder so I can get it on the same side as the ball. I thought about using the dinghy to pull the boat upwind but the logistics of doing that with just Deb and me seem risky. I'm really dreading the idea of having to call The Moorings for help.

On a whim, I grab the swim ladder and start kicking to see if I can create any kind of slack in the chain. Amazingly, it seems like it's working. The chain starts to drop lower and lower on the rudder. I keep kicking, sucking huge amounts of air through the snorkel. I'm towing the boat upwind and the chain is getting more and more slack until it finally drops below the rudder. I switch my kick to turn the boat so that the chain will come up on the same side as the ball and let her drift back.

I'm totally spent but I'm worried that the ball is going to pop free and the boat is going to be loose so I keep my head under to watch what happens.

Nothing.

After I catch my breath - Deb is certain I'm going to expire - I dive down and try to pull the ball free but it is still securely wedged. I have Deb try to turn the rudder but it won't budge. Hmm.

I try a few more times to pull it free but I just can't put any force into it. After a few more minutes of pondering, I think of a solution. I drag myself back onto the boat and get one of the bowlines. The loop end goes over the stern cleat and the rest goes in the water. I get all my stuff on again and get back in the water. I take the end of the line and pass it around the chain at the bottom of the ball and hand it back up to Deb to put around the jib sheet winch. I grab hold of my safety line since I don't know what's going to happen if and when we get free and tell her to start cranking.

It only takes few cranks to pull the ball out from its confines and we are free. Actually, we are now snagged on the ball via the rope that is around it but we are no longer stuck. W00t!

I'm exhausted - both from the physical effort and the mental anxiety of being in a bad situation. All in all, it could have been a lot worse. There wasn't much wind and the water was very calm. This would have been much harder in many of the other places we stopped.

I considered just staying on this ball and moving the line that we already had on it, up to the bow but it wasn't really where we wanted to be in the anchorage so we ended up pulling up the anchor, letting the ball go, and dropping the anchor in another location.

Screw the balls. I was kind of pissed that they were not "standard" mooring ball setups. Even if you could somehow snag the shackle that is laying flat, it's attached to the ball itself so you can't lift the whole contraption up to the deck to tie on to it. Sitting in the cockpit later, with copious amounts of alcohol to sooth the nerves, reasoned out a way we could have picked this up (other than the way we did it...).

Yellow Beach Bar - Ile Pinel

I would put Deb on the helm and tell her to just circle in the anchorage while I got in the dink with a bowline. I would dinghy over to the ball, attach the line and dinghy back to the boat. With the line attached to the ball, we could do a normal pickup with Deb fishing the line off the ball with the hook. I could have even tied a life jacket to the line to make it easier to pickup out of the water.

Indeed, later that evening another boat came in and they sent out a person in a dinghy to attach the line to the ball. They stayed in the dinghy at the ball and simply handed the line up to the person in the boat but with just two people, and Deb not really comfortable driving the dink or the boat in close spaces, I think we'll stick with my plan next time.

Ile Pinel and the Yellow Beach Bar

Anyway, with disaster averted, we went ashore to Pinel and had a Cheeseburger in Paradise at the Yellow Beach bar. We love this place and we love the bartender Jose. He made a great Mai Tai and, when you tip him, he gives you samples of his special rum mixes.

We hiked to the ocean side of the island for more shelling and some great views.

This was our last night and we thoroughly enjoyed this location.

The next day was back to Oyster Pond, checkout, and the trip home.

The trip was great and the best thing about it was that it answered the question of whether the first was a one-time fluke or the start of a pattern. Yeah, let's make this a pattern...

Here's the obligatory video. When I make these, everything hinges on the song. This year I was really sweating it because I couldn't find a song that I wanted to set the video to until I came across "Rum" by the Brothers Osborne. It just fit perfectly.

You can play the video right here but clicking the HD icon in the play bar lets you see the bigger version.



Mix it with Rum from Tom H. on Vimeo.