Brian Russell 5/1/24 Brian Russell 5/1/24

Waiting for Weather

The hike up to Shirley Heights, Antigua.

We head north to Antigua where we spend a month visiting with, and sadly saying farewell to friends. It is that time of year in the cruising calendar when folks part ways. Those leaving their boats in Trinidad or Grenada turn their bow south and work their way down the chain of islands ready for haul out in May and June. The rest of us are facing a big passage north. Maybe back to the US, or as in our case, starting another circuit of the North Atlantic.

What a good looking looking bunch we are! On left Brian, Nancy, Mike and Polly from Joli and Lost Loon. On the right Lori, Dan (from BeBe) and Dana from Pathfinder. The cruising lifestyle with sailing, swimming, hiking, lots of walking for groceries and other errands, truly is a very healthy way to exist. Rum punches and sundowners less so, but one needs a balance in life! We obviously love it. With these fine folk we explored some of Antigua’s best snorkeling sites and saw some amazing wildlife.

We did a number of projects to make sure Helacious is ready for the passage. Antigua is a nice spot for this, it has the support businesses of sail makers, rigging supplies and machine shops- and decent grocery stores for stocking up the ship supplies. There are a nice variety of pleasant anchorages that are all within easy reach, so the view out of the window never gets boring. The Rigging was checked back in Martinique, but an issue of the gooseneck having too much play was concerning to Brian. In Falmouth Bay we finally addressed this. The pin that passes through the stainless and cast aluminum parts of the gooseneck was a fraction too small, as a result there was some movement, which with time would wallow out the hole and exacerbate the problem. Fortunately we saw little evidence of damage to the two sections despite the wiggle. However to address it we had the stainless section bored out and a sacrificial bushing was inserted. A new pin, 50/1000” larger was made and now it all fits together quite snugly, very little movement.

Another home improvement project was refinishing the salon table. After over 8 years of use, the finish was breaking down. Brian had to scrape off the old varnish and reapply 5 new layers. It was an awkward week as we tried not to bump into the table as the varnish dried and cured, but the effort was so worth it. It looks BEAUTIFUL.

It is always a concern when heading offshore that something may get caught in the prop. A line from a crab or lobster pot or a discarded fishing net. You would not believe what is out there, hundreds of miles from land. In fact on our first Atlantic crossing while swimming in 25,000 ft while becalmed, we discovered some fishing line on the prop. Fortunately it had not wrapped around or fouled it, we could easily remove it. But what if….. We need to be totally self sufficient and able to deal with any eventuality. To that end we purchased this small tank of air. It is half the normal size, with enough air for about 20-30minutes of shallow diving. With a new backpack and borrowing the regulator from Helens diving BCD we now have a useful set up for Brian to be able to cut away line or inspect the hull from below while offshore. We will not use this for cleaning the bottom of the boat, we have a hookah set up for that. This is for emergencies only.

In the galley preparations are also underway. We prepared and cooked a number of meals that are easy to heat up and enjoy underway. We have meatballs, chilli, minestrone, breakfast burritos and chicken noodle soup waiting in the freezer.

It is now in the transition between dry and rainy season here in Antigua, and it is the latest we have been here. The foliage is different from previous years. The hillsides are brown, the plants are in a different part of their cycle. It is interesting.

As time passed and we waited for the weather in the North Atlantic to settle down, more jobs were tackled. We performed “surgery” on our Starlink antenna dish. The style we have has a small motor that keeps the dish orientated toward the closest satellite. It uses quite a bit of electricity, even when we are at anchor, with the constant movement of the boat. It is not just the electrical usage that made us want to perform this surgery. On our passage down to the Caribbean from the US we were in fairly rough seas. The motor could not keep up with the movement and eventually gave up the ghost, going into “storage mode”, and it would not restart until we had reached our destination and stopped moving around so much. This is not good when we have come to enjoy/rely on our fast internet speeds for downloading weather reports and planning our routing. The latest version of the dish that is sold does not have this motor, it presents a flat surface to the heavens and works fine. We therefore got the instructions from YouTube and pulled out the drill. First the dish had to be turned off at the point when the leg was in vertical position. The hole was drilled 5” in from the bottom and needlepoint pliers could reach in and pull the plug to disable the motor. Our embarrassingly large collection of wine corks came in handy to plug the hole, held in place with a dab of silicone caulk. And it works. Fingers crossed it continues to work the whole way across the Atlantic.

We sailed back to Falmouth on the southern coast of Antigua. On the way we passed a sperm whale. Apologies for the bad video, but a challenge to film, moving boat, large underwater beast. You get the drift. Still always a thrill to see them close. We saw it breach and flap its flippers… honest!

It was the Antigua Classic Race week. We were not around to watch the races themselves, but we saw the boats arriving and out practicing their skills. Stretching the sails. Just beautiful. I love the classic reef lines on the sails.

We cleaned the winches, removing old grease and replacing it with new grease. It is not the most pleasant job, but the satisfaction of getting it all back together and working is quite something.

We filled the fuel tanks to the brim. We hope not to motor too much on our passage, but you have to be prepared. The cost was in EC$ (Eastern Caribbean dollar, exchange rate 1US$=2.7EC$). Still a lot. We defrosted the fridge before restocking with passage goodies. While cleaning we started down that rabbit hole and replaced the seals on the refrigerator. Not a waste of time at all.

We changed the oil in the engine, replaced zincs on engine and generator and FINALLY, the blue box of electronics, that gave us grief all the way back in Nova Scotia is working! Brian simply would not give up. The wiring was fine it turns out, the issue was some hidden code in the settings that needed to be toggled to “OFF”. We can now charge our batteries from the generator at nearly double the speed.

We were all ready to go. The weather, however, had a different agenda. The North Atlantic had not settled in to its usual pattern. Just ask the sailors on the Golden Globe Race. The Azores High is all over the place, and stiff northerly winds, or no wind, were keeping us pinned down. Instead of moping around, we decided to distract ourselves with a side trip to our favorite beach, Eleven Mile Beach in Barbuda, about 35nm north of Antigua. We squeezed in a celebratory lunch at Barbuda Belle, a beautiful, though isolated resort on the north end of the island.

We had a delightful sail back to Antigua to finally stock up on fresh eggs and vegetables. It looked like we would be leaving in just a few of days. Once again Brian dives into the engine room. He had discovered a slow leak on the water pump was now a steady drip. He also tried to diagnose the rather worrisome intermittent starting of the engine. It appears to be an electrical contact, possibly loose or corroding. But where? We re still not sure, but thanks to Dana on Pathfinder, we have a work around we can use to start engine in an emergency.

The bottom was cleaned once again, prop blades tweaked and prop greased. There really is nothing else to do. We are ready to sail, and we will…… soon.

Brian Russell 4/1/24 Brian Russell 4/1/24

Dominica waterfalls

We returned to Dominica, one of our favorite islands due to the wonderful unspoilt natural interior. You can see from the photo above why it was used extensively in Pirates of the Caribbean. The island is filled with rivers, streams and waterfalls and the most dramatic forested landscape. Dan and Lori from BeBe were also in the Portsmouth anchorage and we planned a couple of outings with them along with Courtney and Dave from Umoya. We had chatted to Umoya during our November passage from Chesapeake Bay down to the islands. We had talked on the radio, and exchanged a few texts until our Starlink dish decided to quit. They had then got quite concerned about our abrupt silence, but fortunately our other satellite communications with mutual friends BeBe explained the situation. Here in Dominica, we finally all met up.

Our first outing was an afternoon walk up to Fort Shirley overlooking Portsmouth and Prince Rupert Bay. The fort is on a peninsula to the north of the bay and a hike up through the forest leads past the ruins of the Governors mansion. It must have been quite a building in its heyday, the grand rooms and vaulted arches told of considerable elegance. Now, however it was a battle between the jungle vines and gravity as to which would bring it down first.

A couple of days later we arranged for Serge, a local driver and guide, to take us all up to the trail head for a visit to Chaudiere Pools. We got dropped off and hiked 40 minutes down the track to the river. Here we lounged, swam, jumped and enjoyed the fresh water for a couple of hours. The plunge of the waterfall created champagne bubbles, it was delightful.

A couple of days later our friends had left and we hired Serge again to take us on a tour toward the south of the island. Here we explored Freshwater Lake, high in the rainforest, with a lovely trail around it. Serge was very knowledgeable about the flora and also shared with us his recipe for the tea that he drinks daily. It involves fresh ginger, tumeric, citrus peel, cloves and some unfamiliar-to-us leaf. It certainly seemed to have worked, he was edging up to 70 years old and appeared fit as a fiddle.

After the hike we drove over to Trafalger Falls. On the way we passed by the massive construction site for the proposed Trafalger Falls and Boiling Lake gondola. Helicopters were carrying all the building supplies to the jungle interior, constructing towers for the eventual lift system. The scar through the hillside was upsetting to us, but for Serge it indicated progress and riches to come. We still treasure the memories of our epic hike to Boiling Lake 3 years ago. The idea of trams clunking and grinding overhead and across the Valley of Desolation does not feel like an improvement to us.

Moving on to Trafalger Falls. This is a popular tourist spot, the dramatic twin waterfalls are fed by two separate rivers and merge at this point. The added attraction are the hot springs that line the edge of the falls, the yellow sulforus deposit indicated where the very hot water feeds in to the rivers flow. You find a point where the temperature of the waters mixing is to your taste, and just sit and enjoy.

Time seemed to pass by quite quickly. Before we knew it we had been there almost 2 weeks. Our friends on Skylark arrived and we caught up on the news over sundowners. We enjoyed an evening at the local beach BBQ, a final trip to the wonderful vegetable market and then it was time to move on. We sailed north to Antigua, leaving Dominica under a rather gloomy sky. However the changing weather made for a great sunset that night.

Brian Russell 3/17/24 Brian Russell 3/17/24

Rhum and Ruins

Water wheel driven sugar cane press in the grounds of St Pierre zoo.

Heading north from Bequia we made an overnight stop in Rodney Bay, St Lucia, but did not check in, leaving the next morning to make the crossing over to Martinique. The sail was sporty at times as we sailed across the passages between the islands. We had to resort to the engine however while in the wind shadow of St Vincent and St Lucia, with their high central mountains. We passed sites of previous memorable hikes; the volcano on St Vincent and Petit Piton on St Lucia.

Arriving in St Anne, Martinique, we were again back in familiar territory. We knew where the grocery stores were - and the all important boulangeries. There were more boats than in previous years, maybe we were still seeing the effects of Covid-19 reduced travel in 2022. The rather sparse cheese shelf in the grocery store told of high demand, which they were obviously having trouble satisfying. Fortunately the wine shelf was still well stocked.

We reunited with old friends and made new friends. We had Nella and Björn from Think Twice over for sundowners. It was fun to start thinking about our planned summer in Sweden and get some tips on places to go. We also organized a dinghy float from Helacious with the crew of BeBe, Pathfinder, Think Twice, Kerpa and Tribute.

After a few days the fridge was once again full of food and we welcomed old pals Lee and Lys onboard. We revisited some of our favorite places in St Anne, including the lovely hike around the peninsula and Anse de Saline beach.

We sailed up to St Pierre and anchored off the town for a few days. We enjoyed visiting the ruins from The 1902 volcanic eruption of Mount Pele and exploring the restaurants in town for lunch.

A most pleasant and unexpected surprise was the zoo. The grounds were beautifully planted, the combination of plantation ruins, history and well displayed animal habitats made it a fun afternoon. I think my new favorite animal is an anteater.

Our final stop was Anse Mitan where we enjoyed some fine dining in the small tourist town and rented a car to visit the Clement Rhum Distillery. We had visited the previous year and really enjoyed the outdoor sculpture park in addition to the tasty product.

A week flew by and Lee and Lys left us. We returned to Le Marin and St Anne as we had an appointment with the Rigger. As we are planning another circuit of the north Atlantic over the next couple of years, it seemed prudent to have the rig checked by a professional. We have sailed 20,000nm and things can and do wear out or stretch. The riggers were in high demand and we were left waiting for a few days. To fill the time Brian started working on a few boat projects. One was to redo the ventillation for the composting head. Occasionally on passage when we get green water over the deck of the boat, some water is forced down the ventillation shaft for the toilet. The water passes through the fan and quickly renders it useless. We could either stock up on fans and consider them disposable, or fix the problem. The solution was to create a catchment vessel with drain, and have the toilet fan installed above so it is no longer in the path of any ingressing water.

Another quick job was to re-bed the hatch above the head. Again it is only on big passages when water is flowing across the deck do we have a leak in the hatch. Once Brian pulled the hatch out, it was clear why…. the sealant was only 95% around the hatch, more sealant and hopefully that is good to go. The riggers came to perform the inspection. It was impressive how thorough they were and simply got down to business as soon as they came onboard. No time for chit chat. All shrouds, lifelines, sheets, mast fittings and winches were closely inspected. Our rig was apparently a little loose, the mast was too vertical (a slight backward bend toward the top is preferred). Tightening the backstays should solve both issues. However our shrouds are very heavy duty and required an expert to tune. We had to wait several more days for the job to be finished. Another issue was the slight wobble in the gooseneck, the point where the boom attaches to the mast. This Brian can deal with at a later date with some new washers.

As soon as we were cleared to go, we sailed up to St Pierre and met up with the crew of BeBe and Pathfinder. The following day we all gathered at the bus station for the #3 bus to Fonds-St-Denis and the start of the Canal Beauregard trail. We had done this wonderful hike last year and wanted to share with our friends. This year it had rained considerably more and the canal was over flowing in numerous places. The soggy sandbags did not fill us with confidence. However we all survived, no-one slipped off.

Toward the end of the hike we came upon a Kapok tree filled with these beautiful yellow birds. Village Weavers, originally from Central Africa, had colonized the tree with their intricately woven nests.

We rewarded ourselves with a delicious meal at L’Alsace A Kay, an authentic restaurant serving food from the Alsace region of France. A bonus was this same restaurant had the customs computer, so we checked out of Martinique and set sail early the next day, Dominica bound.

Brian Russell 2/13/24 Brian Russell 2/13/24

Island hopping.

The Grenadines are a group of small islands in the Lesser Antilles scattered between the two larger islands of St Vincent to the north, and Grenada to the south. Grenada controls the southern third, while St Vincent is in charge of the northern two thirds, comprising 32 islands and cays. Some are private and off limits, while some are open to the public, under strict regulations. Some are a combination, Canouan for example has a private enclave to the north and south of the island, with a small settlement of local people smack dab in the middle.

By Alison DeGraff - sourced from Wikepedia

My faithful reader (yes you) will recognize some of the names already. We checked in to Grenada on the island of Carriacou just before Christmas and then sailed south, past Isle de Ronde to Grenada itself for the holiday season. Once the New Year celebrations were complete we began our journey back up through the islands. Our first stop was to return to Carriacou. Here we enjoyed a few days of intermittent squally weather, the rainbows making up for the rain-showers. We snorkeled the reefs to the south of Carriacou, White Island and Saline Island, then spent the night all by ourselves off Frigate Island. The next morning the enormous 88m/288ft long sailing vessel Maltese Falcon showed up and anchored nearby. We spent an entertaining morning looking through the binoculars to see how the other half lived: their trip to the same snorkel sites we had visited the previous day, the “toys” they had onboard and the lobster lunch on the back deck. It turns out the ships officers were in turn checking us out, discussing how Helacious is a boat that can cruise anywhere. When we heard that later from one of their crew while waiting at customs, it made Captain Brian very proud.

Maltese Falcon, it could be yours for $490,000 a week (plus expenses and tips).

It was then time to check out of Grenada, and move north. We arrived at the office at 9am (they are meant to open from 9-12 but we did not see an official until at least 9.30am). At the time of our arrival, there were already 4 groups of cruisers in line ahead of us. We had heard unpleasant stories from our friends of the delay tactics used to gain more money from cruisers if you checked out in the afternoon. They would stall and delay their work until about 3.30pm, then proceed to charge overtime for the folk that had been forced to wait as soon as 4pm rolled around. We therefore decided a morning attempt would be better. As it turned out, they still appeared to stall. We finally were checked out by 11.30. A number of people had left in frustration.

The crossing from the island of Carriacou to Canouan took us from Grenada to St Vincent. We picked Canouan to check in even though it was not necessarily the closest island with a customs office, as Union Island and the town of Clifton, had rather a bad rap. Stories abounded of sailors being harassed by “boat boys” and disgruntled locals untying your boat or stealing outboards in retribution. Of course these stories are always to be taken with a big pinch of salt, but when sailing about 10 miles further results in a different island and a different vibe…. why not go for it. We arrived in Canouan soaked! The crossing was much rougher than we had anticipated, 25-30kt of wind, hard on the nose. We had gotten complacent and lazy, not fully securing the boat for the short hop to another island. The waves in the passage between islands were quite large and we had a lot of water over the deck. Some of this water also found its way below decks via the ventialltion dorades which we had failed to close before we left. For the first time ever our bed got soaked! First order of the day was to wash sheets and dry out the mattress before we could go to bed.

The next morning we met up with the crew of Skylark, friends from the Salty Dawg rally of 2020. With Tim and Diane we climbed the hill over to the eastern side of the island to check out the long reef that protected the beach on the windward side. We explored another abandoned building, so often seen on these islands. Someones dream only to fall to ruin in the harsh environment. The long beach protected by the reef was all ours.

After a dip in the water we headed back to our boats, but got caught in a heavy rainshower. As we walked up the road these Red-footed tortoises emerged from the undergrowth and headed straight for the drainage channel for a drink of fresh water.

Canouan has two private and gated enclaves, one to the north, the other to the south. The small settlement of Charlestown is in the middle. The gated communities have desalination plants to provide fresh water. The community does not. It predominantly relies on cisterns and captured rainwater. The ground is sterile and rocky. Nothing but weeds will grow. All the food is brought in by boat, so the week we were here our supplies dwindled significantly. We never found the grocery store, but the small stall selling vegetables by the ferry dock had the best tomatoes so far in the Caribbean and we bought some lobster from a local fisherman. The disparity between the haves and have-nots has never been so obvious as it was here.

We had more friends we wanted to rendezvous with, so after enjoying Canouan we headed south to the Tobago Cays. We had heard many wonderful things about these small islands: the crystal clear water, great snorkeling and sandy beaches with palm trees. It sounded idyllic. The reality fell a little short. If there is one thing we have learned over the past few years it is that one man’s paradise is another mans purgatory. We like to get away from the crowds, avoid the lobster barbeque on the beach with 50 strangers, buzzing by kite surfers and instead discover the reefs and turtles by ourselves. Here there was an area roped off to swim with turtles (we saw one lonely fellow). The anchorage was so rough it was almost impossible to get back on the boat from the dinghy without knocking ourselves out, and the mooring on the sheltered side was along a reef that the locals were hunting for lobster. This was all in the protected “marine park”, costing $45 a night. After an afternoon visiting, we left and went to nearby Mayreau, anchored at a lovely spot with 2 other boats for $0, and waited for our friends.

The view of Union Island from our Mayreau anchorage.

While waiting for the group to arrive, Brian took a dive into the engine room to try and understand our recent, and rather worrying few episodes of the engine not starting on cue. Although we are a sailboat, and totally prefer to use wind power to diesel, there are times when the engine is essential- In close quarters, anchoring and leaving an anchorage. We rely on the engine to keep us safe. Recently there had been a few times when the engine would not start. It was resolved in these occasions by Brian rapping smartly on the starter motor with a hammer. But this was clearly not a long term solution.

Nothing has been fully resolved at the time of writing, however we do have a spare starter motor in ship supplies which we plan to install when we are in a marina with support services available. For now the hammer will have to suffice.

Mayreau is the smallest inhabited island of the Grenadines. The lovely resort is run by a Swedish couple who welcome cruisers to enjoy their facilities. We spent a few days there, putting up with the rather rolly anchorage to take advantage of the fine restaurant and pool with a view.

A morning of exploring was all that was needed to check out the town and view from the peak over toward the Tobago Cays. We met some interesting folk on our walk, one finely dressed gentleman was on his way home having played his ukelele in church that morning. Another, Righteous Bob, insisted on giving us a tour of his restaurant/bar. All design and decor done by himself, over 20 years in the making.

The days seem to slip by. We head north, stopping for a few more days in Canouan. We give a local spear-fisherman a ride back to the dock. He had not expected the current to be so strong and was tired after fishing out on the reef. The sunsets put on their show and we do a few chores, one of which was to give our flag a makeover. It has a few months of life in it.

We had visited Bequia the previous year. It is a lovely island; a relaxed vibe but developed enough to provide entertainment options. Either Happy hour gatherings, good hikes or just choices for provisioning. We anchored at the back of the pack in Admiralty Bay, just off the Lower Bay beach and spent our time just chilling. The weather was weird, very strong winds, rain-showers all week and a swell that would not give up. We rocked and rolled along with BeBe and Pathfinder for over a week. While we had the sewing machine out we helped Dana on Pathfinder fix the luff tape on his genoa. The hardest part was hauling the heavy machine over to his boat without it getting wet.

We enjoyed hikes, visiting the windward side of the island, Friendship and Hope Bays, as well as just around town. The daily activities of laundry or replacing a tire are so different to how it is done at home. The variation of architectural styles, some quite excessively ornate, is fascinating., and of course the local flora and fauna.

We scored some used sailcloth at the local sailmakers. This will be transformed into new shopping bags, once I get the sewing machine out again.

We sailed north from Bequai to St Vincent to pick up our guests for the following week. Justine and Philip escaping the winter in Glasgow, were looking forward to a little beach time in the Caribbean. Of course the first thing we do is go hiking. Soufriere volcano in the north of St Vincent was last active just 3 years ago, December 2020 to April 2021. Our guide, Paul, picked us and Milly, an Australian medical student, up and drove around the east coast of the island to the trailhead. From here the climb to the rim of the volcano was about 2,000 ft, reaching a final altitude of 3,200ft.

The hike began in verdant forest; tree ferns, wild begonia and orchids helped us enjoy the steep and steamy climb up. Once above the tree line the trail, which had been mostly well maintained steps, became treacherous with loose pumice stones. The final push to the crater rim was steep and the mist swirled over our heads.

We reached the rim of the caldera and the clouds lifted. We had a great view into the crater, the sulfurous steam rising from vents in the center.

The following day we explored Kingstown, the capital of St Vincent. The central market, the busy dock area and the quieter back streets with a beautiful Anglican church. The botanical garden, the oldest in the western hemisphere, established in 1765 was pleasant and cool to walk around.

The following day we left St Vincent and had a great sail 18 miles south to Mustique. This private island, famed as a get-away for the rich and famous, is just south east of St Vincent. There are strict rules for visitors to the island. There is no anchoring, a permit for 3 day visit and a mooring ball can be purchased. We were able to go ashore, however only in a well defined area. The few shops near the dock, the famous Basil’s Bar and a beach stretching south down to the lagoon. In all, probably only about 1 square mile. That was fine, we enjoyed sundowners at Basil’s and listening to the music coming from the bar in the evening as part of the Mustique Blues festival.

During the walk along the beach we spotted some mansions scattered around the hillsides. We encountered tortoises, emerging in the late afternoon for a feast on flowers. The sea turtles in the anchorage were quite unafraid and we snorkeled along watching them graze on the sea grass. It was a lovely couple of days.

And then we left, sailing downwind back to Bequia. Brian fished hard with a new rig that he and Phil had constructed. No luck, though. We anchored again off Lower Bay and enjoyed some beach time as well as a great hike to the northernmost tip of the island. We bought some scrimshaw made by Cliff and had a lovely meal out at the elegant FireFly Estate.

Justine and Philip’s last night onboard Helacious was maybe more exciting than they had bargained for. Just after we had all turned in for the night we were woken with a bump. An unattended boat upwind of us had broken from its mooring and was floating out to sea. Luckily (for him) it snagged its dinghy davit line on our bow pulpit and was held fast. Our anchor, with the sudden weight of two boats, began to drag. Fortunately within about 50 feet it reset and both boats held fast. We put out a “securite” alert over channel 16 and shortly after the coastguard came on the radio and quickly mobilized to come to our aid. They towed the boat to a new mooring. The only damage from the whole incident was a scuffed rub-rail on Helacious- and our grill was torn from its bracket as the boat was towed away. It took a dive in the water. We are hoping a replacement is forthcoming as a gesture of gratitude for saving someones floating home.

And just like that 6 weeks had passed. We tidied the boat up and pointed our bow north. Time to get some French cheese.

Brian Russell 1/1/24 Brian Russell 1/1/24

Heading to Grenada

After being on passage for 13 days it was time to stretch our legs. The small town of Deshaies and the neighboring beach, Grande Anse, are the location for the BBC series “Death in Paradise”. We decided to walk around and check it out.

After a couple of days recovering from the passage and fully caught up on sleep we pulled up the anchor and headed south down the west coast of Guadeloupe to the Jacques Cousteau marine reserve at Pigeon Island. We had visited the previous season and we were excited to get back in the water and see some fishes. The weather was not ideal, a little rough and rather overcast but we had a short swim. We also knew there was a self serve laundromat and some well stocked grocery stores in this small town, so we spent a couple of days doing household chores before heading down to our final stop in Guadeloupe, Basse Terre. Here we planned to stock up on coconut rum and check out of Guadeloupe. It pays to be flexible in this lifestyle as we discovered the customs and immigration computer in Basse Terre was down, and “maybe” would be fixed next week. As it was a Saturday we needed to check out that day as everything would be closed on Sunday, and our weather window indicated we would want to do our next passage leaving early Monday morning. We therefore hurriedly jumped back onboard, pulled up the anchor and headed across the rather boisterous pass to Isles des Saintes about 6 miles south where there was also a customs computer. The coconut rum would have to wait for our return journey.

We arrived just in time to complete the formalities, checking out ahead of time so we could depart Monday morning, predawn. We then had a little time to enjoy Les Saintes. The flowers, the beach and the rainshowers.

We were up Monday morning at 4am, slipped the mooring lines and using radar managed to get out of the anchorage without hitting anything. We were well on our way across the passage toward Dominica as the sun rose. We were heading south, down to the southern most nation of the Windward chain, Grenada. It took two days to reach our destination, the Grenadian island of Carriacou. As we entered Tyrrel Bay, our friends, Lori and Dan on BeBe, hailed us and that evening delighted us with our first rum punch of the season.

We checked in at the cute customs and immigration office, conveniently right next to a lovely cafe/restaurant. We shared a rental car with Dan and Lori and explored the small island of Carriacou. Only about 4 miles from tip to toe, but it still managed to pack some impressive hills in that space. We went on the High North nature trail, up the highest peak, 956 feet.. The view out across Hillsborough Bay was splendid and we could see our next anchorage off the small sand bar called Sandy Island. The trail was steep but shaded from the hot sun. We spotted some local fauna, a tortoise and some enormous frogs, settled into a muddy water hole.

After lunch we went around to the windward side of the island, where the guide book suggested there was a strong boatbuilding tradition. We were a little disappointed, only finding a fishing boat in the process of being rebuilt.

The cemetry along the shore was a testament to rising sea levels and maybe poor town planning.

The following day we left the busy and rather rolly anchorage of Tyrrel Bay and popped around the corner to the Sandy Island anchorage. Here we spent a pleasant few days, snorkeled the small reef, said hello and goodbye to cruising friends and started some boat projects, including re-covering the salon cushions.

It was now a week before Christmas and we wanted to be in place and well supplied in time for Jake’s visit. We left Carriacou and planned to sail south to the small Isle de Ronde, half way between Carriacou and Grenada. Just off the coast of this island there is a submerged volcano named Kick ‘em Jenny. There is a 1 mile exclusion zone where one is definitely not supposed to sail, and a 5 mile suggested exclusion zone that is enacted when seismic activity is detected. The weather turned out to be quite different from the forecast and we approached in high seas, heavy cloud and rain-showers, we opted to delay a visit to this island and we sailed on past, down the east coast of Grenada, to a sheltered anchorage called St Davids Harbor. The rain disappeared, we dried out and celebrated getting to our southernmost destination with a few beers and delicious hamburger.

We moved along down the coast to an anchorage just off the private island of Calivigny Island and the boutique Le Phare Bleu marina and resort. Here we settled in, ready for Jake and to celebrate Christmas at the resort restaurant.

In the marina there was a lighthouse boat, originally built and deployed in Sweden, it was restored and shipped to Grenada a few years ago. Pre-covid it had been a restaurant, but now it seemed to just be slowly rotting, the bilge pumps constantly pumping to keep it afoat. We made a quick visit to the brand new grocery store to stock up on fresh vegetables, however the shelves were alarmingly bare. We will have to make do with what is in ships stores until after the holidays. We were joined in the anchorage by BeBe and a British boat, Aegle, which had just crossed from Cape Verde. Their journey was a little unusual in that half way across the Atlantic, their mast cracked. They had to bring all the sails down for fear of losing the mast completely, and complete the passage under power. It was fortunate that Aegle had large fuel tanks, 1,200 miles was a long way to motor. We enjoyed sundowners with both boats, on Christmas eve.

After Christmas we took Helacious west, along the coast to True Blue Bay. Here Jake spent a couple of days completing his PADI open water certification. Then we went on a tour of the island along with Lori and Dan. Our first stop was in the center of the island, at the highest point (582m), the Grand Etang Rainforest, where there was a small lake in the extinct volcano crater and some quite friendly Mona monkeys.

After that excitement it was time to taste some rum. The distillery we were taken to was quite historic, River Antoine Estate was established in 1785 and it still uses many of the original methods to produce rum to this day. The sugar cane is locally sourced and harvested by hand. The presses that grind the cane to extract the syrup are powered by a huge water wheel. The discarded cane is then used as fuel to feed the furnace that concentrates the syrup before fermentation. The final distillation flasks are, if not original, still fairly old. Unfortunately because it was the Christmas holidays, nothing was actually operational, except the final step of bottling. That too was very basic, filtered through cheesecloth and bottles filled by hand from an “igloo” then capped.

At the end of the tour, there was of course a tasting. The 69% abv, which is exported, tasted like paint stripper. The stronger 75% abv, which is for the local market, was marginally better. Needless to say, we resisted the sales pitch and left empty handed. The final two stops for the day were at a chocolate factory (great dark chocolate from Belmont Estate) and a refreshing dip in the river at Mt Carmel waterfalls.

Our last days in Grenada were spent exploring the underwater sculpture park. The sculptures are set among sandy canyons between coral outcrops. It was fun swimming around trying to identify them. They were all at about 20feet deep, so a little hard to get really close to.

And just like that 2023 was over. The fireworks over Grand Anse beach just outside St Georges, the capital of Grenada were quite beautiful, a fine end to 2023 and a lovely way to herald the new year. Bring it on 2024!

Brian Russell 12/8/23 Brian Russell 12/8/23

Type II fun.

Brian reefing the sail on passage to the Caribbean.

Wise men say there are three kinds of fun. Type I:-the activity is fun at the time it is happening; Type II fun- it is fun looking back on the activity from some point in the future; and Type III fun, which is not actually fun….ever. We do not plan on having any of the latter, but Type II does feature quite a bit in the sailing and cruising lifestyle. But more on that later.

After launching we sailed south to Deltaville and met some friends from a couple of years ago, the crew on Django, a young Swiss family; Stephanie, Joffrey and Valentine. We shared our first passage down to Antigua with them in 2020 and anchored alongside for a couple of weeks as we all recovered and took stock of the new surroundings in the Caribbean.

We also visited new friends, Bill and Chris, OCC port officers who have a home and dock just south of Deltaville. We tied up to their dock and spent a lovely day walking in their woods, visiting on Helacious and to cap it all, a wonderful meal in their home. Thank you so much for your hospitality.

We were watching the weather, and wanted to be a little closer to the entrance of the Chesapeake, should a break in the weather permit a departure. We untied from their dock and moved to the south side of the Mathews peninsula and anchored in a favorite spot on the East River. Here we waited for 10 days for a suitable weather window to make the passage from USA to the Caribbean islands. While we waited we watched the leaves turn golden and the sunsets become more dramatic. We were gifted 2 dozen home-grown oysters by a couple who lived across from our anchorage. We enjoyed them over a couple of days, trying different ways to prepare them. Thanks, Tim and Ruth!

Finally we got a forecast from our weather router service that we could sail with. The deciding comment was, “it is not perfect, but it is not going to get any better”. We were so ready. Midnight Thanksgiving eve, as all those turkeys were being brined, we pulled up the anchor and washed off the Chesapeake mud, pointed our bow south and set sail for Martinique.

Wrapped up, thermal layers to the 4th level we set off. We negotiated our way past all the tankers and container ships waiting at the entrance of the bay for a chance to unload their cargo. As we exited Chesapeake Bay downwind in 25 knots gusting to 30, the sun began to rise.

The strategy on this passage was to head down the coast of Virginia toward Cape Hatteras then cross the Gulf Stream at that point. The wind was forecast to diminish. The effect of the north wind contrary to southerly strong Gulf Stream current, making steep waves, should be reduced. We monitored the water temperature, watching it increase from 64°F to 83°F as we entered the stream, the track of the boat in the strong current began to veer off, the heading and COG (course over ground) diverged by as much as 20°. Twelve hours later we were through the stream.

It was a rough ride - too rough to fish, which was a big disappointment to Brian. We emerged on the other side of the warm waters of the stream and now the strategy was to make as much south as possible to escape the oncoming lows that were sweeping down from the NW. We pulled out all the sails; Main, genoa and staysail and sailed hard. It was a rough and rolly passage. The seas were confused (if you have ever been in a confused sea, you know exactly what I mean), and we had a lot of green water over the deck. There was also the rarer breaking wave that crashed over the whole boat. We spent most of our watches sitting on the floor, wedged in next to the Nav station. It was low, secure and less energy was involved in bracing against the boat’s constant movement. After the third day even our Starlink satellite dish had had enough of the constant motion. It went into “stow” mode, and would not come out. We had to manage the remainder of the trip using the IridiumGo satellite, much slower and certainly no movies.

And so it went for many days. The weather got warmer, the layers were quickly discarded and T shirts and swim trunks came out. The boat continued to move around a lot and although neither of us got sick, we did not have a huge appetite. Eating was something we did, not something we enjoyed. We turned and headed east, aiming for a point south of Bermuda. It was critical to get as far east as possible before we encountered the Trade Winds. These classic and reliable winds blow from the east, constantly. If we did not make our mileage to the east before encountering them, we would be in serious trouble. We would end up in the Dominican Republic, and not the southern Caribbean we were aiming for. After several days we achieved our goal of longitude 62°W, then turned right and started our trek south.

The seas continued to be large, although finally they were more regular. You could anticipate the movement, rather than having to always react. As we got in warmer waters the chance of squalls and rain showers increased. A squall is no fun on a sailboat, the sudden increase in wind strength and change in wind direction can be very dangerous. We closely monitored the squalls as they popped up on the radar screen, sometimes changing our course to get away from the worst of the winds. Toward the end of our passage we managed to get the fishing lines out. Brian was rewarded with a tasty Yellow Fin Tuna. Not a record breaker, but good for at least 3 meals.

Dawn of day 12, with 175nm to go, the morning forecast for the next 24 hours was not looking good. If we continued on to Martinique we would be facing high winds and 10ft waves on the beam with a lee shore getting closer and closer. We decided to turn and head in to make landfall in Guadeloupe, 75nm to the southwest. Unfortunately it was dark when we arrived, but we had visited the Deshaies anchorage before so knew the lay of the land. We dropped anchor at the back of the pack, and after a couple of attempts, it held. We had arrived.

View over the anchorage in Deshaies, Guadeloupe.

Within 10 minutes of dropping the hook, our phone lights up. “Are you in Guadeloupe? Deshaies?? We are here in a rental house!”. Friends we made in Madeira last year happened to be checking the internet and saw our position. The crew of Nansen had since sailed to Morocco, Senegal and Guinea-Bissau, crossed the Atlantic and sailed the coast of Brazil. They spent a few weeks exploring the Amazon river, and now were here in Guadeloupe! Quelle bon chance! We spent the following afternoon enjoying the view from their cabin, eating crepes (thanks Naïline) and catching up on past adventures, and plans for the future. I am sure we will cross paths again down the way, the adventurous are drawn to each other.

For now, it was time to sleep, wash the boat and the sheets. A couple of baguettes later and already the memory of the rough passage was fading. It was definitely Type II fun.

Blog of our friends on Nansen, an inspirational read if you seek adventure. https://sergezlesamarres.wordpress.com/

Brian Russell 11/9/23 Brian Russell 11/9/23

Sorting things out

Zazu, one of Brians more eclectic sculpures, has a new temporary home with friends until we return.

We left New York just as the UN were in session; a huge naval ship was guarding the entrance to the bay. We sailed under the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge and down the coast of New Jersey and into the Delaware Bay.

We arrived at the entrance to the bay at dawn and spent the day motoring up the channel towards the D&C canal. Delaware Bay is very shallow, great for day sailing and local fishing, but for any boat with a draft of 4 feet or more, the channel was the only option. After an overnight stay in Chesapeake City, an ambitiously named small town half way down the D&C canal, the following day we were back in the Upper reaches of Chesapeake Bay.

A nasty storm was forecast so we made tracks down to Baltimore where our friend and past sailing instructor, Captain Frank, had secured a berth for us at the Yacht Club. The berth was awkward and the wind gusty, not our finest moment in the annals of docking. So dramatic, Helen lost her glasses overboard! No worries, the spare pair came out and we enjoyed a lovely evening catching up on our adventures with Frank and his friends.

Annapolis was the next stop. We arrived just before the boat show so easily found a mooring in the center of town and enjoyed a couple of days walking around, exploring the historical - and not so historical - sights. Who knew Moses had been presented with the design for a submarine so long ago? The bronze at the entrance to the chapel at Annapolis Naval Academy clearly depicts this moment.

It was about this time we had an epiphany of sorts. The status quo could no longer continue. Our home in Tennessee was standing empty and time was not being kind to it. We are obviously enjoying this wandering lifestyle and want to continue for a few more years. We needed to have a family in our home to care for it. We had arranged for a haul out and bottom paint at Herrington Harbor, just south of Annapolis, so decided to extend our time in the boatyard and go home to take care of business. We gave ourselves a month to complete the task, We needed to be back in the water by November, in time to catch weather to head south.

Haul out day came and we were cleaned off and put in the boatyard. We hopped in a car and headed home. Then the fun began. Our neighbors, Julie and Shay were brilliant, helping us unload a lot of furniture and trash. Our sailing friends kept our spirits up. The house was FINALLY finished, with the addition of a staircase railing (after 27 years of living without one).

Treasures were discovered and safely packed away for a few more years. The movers came and by the end we were dining outside, and camping inside until finally the job was done.

We visited Brent and Kianna in Charleston to celebrate a birthday we had missed, then headed back to the boat. Helacious had a little TLC in our absence. Her bottom was painted with 2 coats of Vivid red anti-foul paint. We added vinyl stripes just above to try and prevent the slime that tended to develop on the bare aluminum. New solar panels were added and the blue boxes of electronics that had given us grief since Norway last year appear to be finally fixed and installed.

Finally, 5 weeks after hauling out, Helacious was in the slings again and back in the water. What a month. The spectacular sunset that first night seemed like a good omen for the adventures ahead.

Brian Russell 9/21/23 Brian Russell 9/21/23

Hurricanes

We arrive back in good ol’ USA at Provincetown on Cape Cod, Labor Day weekend. Oh my! What a culture shock. So many people, so many boats. Checking in with the ROAM system worked well, although as it was a holiday weekend it took being on hold overnight before we were officially approved. We anchored on the edge of the huge mooring field and took the long dinghy ride into shore. Provincetown has a business strip that was a wonderful opportunity to people watch.

The Pilgrim Monument rises high above the town of Provincetown. It commemorates the first place the Pilgrims landed, however there was no water supply so they quickly moved on and settled across the bay in Plymouth.

A replica of the Santa Maria in Provincetown harbor. We later saw it making a dash down Long Island Sound to escape hurricane Lee.

The quainter and quieter backstreets were delightful to stroll through. It was hot, we pulled out the summer clothes that had been in storage and enjoyed the feeling of warm sun on our backs.

There was a wide range of art on display in the many, many galleries. We dipped in and out, as we wandered the length of the town. They were not all as blunt as these Bad Dogs shown below.

The following day we went to the beach.

Since our visit, just 2 weeks later hurricane Lee loomed on the horizon and took direct aim for this area. I hope there was not too much damage.

We left Cape Cod and transited through the Cape Cod Canal into Buzzards Bay and the legendary sailing grounds of Marthas Vineyard. The current going through the canal was fairly benign, until the end when we were swirled around under the final bridge.

We spent a few days visiting Marthas Vineyard (most expensive beer ever) and Woods Hole. The Woods Hole Historical museum, Aquarium and the Ocean Science Discovery Center were all great visits. By this time Hurricane Lee was in the news, the precise track was still uncertain, but it was decidedly large and heading our way. We began a hasty retreat west down Long Island Sound toward protected waters we hope.

The predicted track of hurricane Lee was right through the area we had enjoyed this past summer. We still had friends in Nova Scotia and Maine as the storm approached - very little we could do except worry. One of the reasons we spent the summer in the northern climes was to escape hurricane activity. This year the Caribbean has been spared. The north, not so much. Lee is the third named storm to target this coastline this summer 2023.

So what did we do? We arrived in the western most part of Long Island Sound a few days before the predicted landfall of Lee. Oyster Bay is a natural hurricane hole, the shoreline curves sinuously around leaving no direct path open to the sound and no long fetch to create bucking waves. The water was shallow allowing for good anchor scope and the bottom was mud, so strong holding. We stayed there as the storm slid by to the west. We were literally right on the edge.

While in Oyster Bay we visited the motorcycle museum of the most famous current resident, Billy Joel. Pretty impressive, especially as this was only part of his full collection.

The morning Lee passed by we pulled up the anchor and set out for New York. Why the rush? Well unfortunately the following week the UN was in session and when this happens, the coastguard, as a matter of security, closes down the East River. If we did not leave Saturday morning it would be a full week before we could transit and get to our next stop in Brooklyn. The timing of our departure was also critical to make sure we arrived at Hells Gate at slack tide, or shortly thereafter. This area of water is aptly named as it is where the waters from Long Island Sound, the water from New York Harbor and the Hudson river via Harlem River all merge. The tidal currents can reach up to 6kt and whirlpools can form. It sounded terrifying.

Approaching New York under the Throgs Neck Bridge. We passed Rikers Island and the prison ship used to relieve overcrowding. They were playing basketball in the terrace exercise yard.

And before we knew it, we arrived at Hells Gate - we timed it perfectly. The tide just turned past slack so there were no issues passing through the choke point, and we had a favorable current for the rest of the passage down the East River.

What a view. The marina, One15 Brooklyn Marina, was right opposite the tip of Manhatten and Wall Street. The view was unbeatable.

We spent a couple of days exploring Brooklyn with Jake and had some memorable meals. We even found a sailmaker in Brooklyn, although methinks long since out of business. We even had a boat party to show off Helacious to friends and family. Great visit.

Leaving the marina we crossed the bay, dodging high speed ferries and tug boats, and anchored between the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. Unable to land due to security restrictions, we just enjoyed the million dollar view.

The weather presented a perfect passage south, steady wind from the west to send us down the New Jersey shore to Delaware Bay and through the D&C canal to the Chesapeake, our home for the fall. Here we will prepare Helacious for our next major passage back to the Caribbean where we will explore the southern Windward Islands.

Brian Russell 9/13/23 Brian Russell 9/13/23

Retracing our steps.

Sailing west again, into the setting sun.

The journey back to Canada from St Pierre was 2 nights. We had good weather and managed to sail most of the way. We landed in eastern Nova Scotia, Canso, an official port of entry. It is unclear why there are only 4 or 5 official ports of entry where we have to land, and physically tie up before checking in. Both times the checking in process has involved a phone call to a customs officer in Toronoto or Quebec. No eye contact at all. Canso was not much. A fishing port and RV park summed it up. We did score Lobster though, in retrospect, not sure how legal. The guy said, as he departed, “you never saw me”!!

We left Canso the following day and wove our way through rocky pine tree covered islands in sheltered waters to the unfortunately named Louse Bay, it was quite lovely.

We spent a few days there, in the company of sv Flying Fish and crew, watching eagles, kingfishers and seals and searching, unsuccessfully, for the mussels promised in the guide. The wind then blew from the north and we were off, an overnight passage down the coast to Halifax.

In Halifax we had a new set of AGM batteries waiting for us. Our old batteries were still functioning, but their ability to hold a charge overnight, especially when underway and using the autopilot, was getting noticeably less efficient. Additionally this summer had been challenging, the frequent fog and lack of sunny skies to benefit from solar charging put more hours than we would have liked on the generator. Brian had been going back and forth on what batteries to purchase. Should we join the crowd and switch our system over to the very efficient and safe but complex lithium batteries now available, or should we stick with the more conventional lead acid chemistry? The final decision came down to safety at sea. The lithium systems involve many BMS (battery management system) and charging regulators as it is critical that lithium batteries are not overcharged. However these same regulators could in theory turn off the bank if they discovered a problem, and you would be left with no batteries and no way of resolving the problem. Far offshore in a boat that is heavily dependent on electricity for navigation, this would be an issue. Additionally for the cost of making the switch and rewiring systems, we could purchase new AGM batteries three times over. Our new batteries, 5 of the Victron Super Cycle AGM 170Ah, gave us 50% greater capacity for the same footprint. Now it may be time to buy another solar panel to charge them!

New batteries installed. A good mornings work.

The next stop was Lunenburg where we had a date with a master electrician. Since Brian had built the boat we had never actually had anyone look at the electrical system. However there were a couple of new items we had purchased and installed while in Europe that did not appear to be working correctly, or at all. This was the first opportunity to have a recommended expert come and take a look and tell us if they were installed incorrectly, or were we just unlucky and had purchased faulty units. We booked a berth on the wharf at the Fisheries museum and they ran shore power cable out to us to help us test the first item, a Victron isolation transformer. This box is what allows us to charge our batteries and run our systems while plugged in to shore power. It is more complicated in that it does this via induction, keeping the boat physically unconnected -an important safety feature for our metal boat as we do not want stray unexpected currents. The new isolation transformer was supposed to recognize European and American electrical systems and adapt accordingly. We installed it as we left for Norway, but we were never able to use it. Dave came onboard and repeated many of the tests Brian had done, he confirmed it was installed correctly and concluded it was a bad unit. On to the second item, a secondary battery charger which we had bought to boost the efficiency of charging while using the generator. Again, he looked at the installation and tested the unit. Another duff. Our faith in Victron products has taken a hit. Hopefully with Dave’s report we will be able to get both units replaced as we travel down through the US before we leave again for foreign shores.

As we were leaving Lunenburg we passed a Dory being rowed in the bay. These are popular in the area. They are faithful replicas of the small whaling boats that were launched to actually go out and harpoon the whales. The high sides and ability to be stacked on the deck of the main ship made them the perfect seaworthy vessel for the job. They looked really heavy to row.

We spent one night anchored off Carters beach,. We had a chat to the two other boats in the anchorage, exchanging plans and opinions as to the safety of heading offshore right after hurricane Franklin had passed by. The issue was not so much the wind, but residual swell from the storm. We decided Helacious is a strong and heavy boat, we would head offshore to escape the Bay of Fundy currents that could complicate the seas, and hopefully find some wind to sail to Cape Cod.

With a nice red sunset to encourage us, we set off the next morning, USA bound.

Brian Russell 8/25/23 Brian Russell 8/25/23

A brief trip to France

We stayed a few more days in Hare Bay, Newfoundland. There was a wonderful waterfall at the northern end of the bay that had the best swimming holes, we just needed swimming weather. Plus the wind was not great for a passage to Miquelon just yet. We could go explore yet another, different, beautiful bay - but why, when we were really enjoying all this one had to offer? In addition, a gale was in the forecast so we decided to stay put, at least we knew the holding was good.

Finally we had a sunny afternoon, the wind dropped and we put the swim suits on.

Our time was not wasted. More smoked mackerel for ships stores! And then our week was up and the weather looked suitable for the crossing.

Miquelon and St Pierre are a territory of France. Despite being only 12 miles from Newfoundland (and 2373 miles from France), they are “full on” French. No English spoken, euro used, Boule played, and baguettes sold. They were initially settled by Basque fishermen in the 1600’s. Control of the islands over the years switched from French to British and back again, finally becoming a French territory in 1946. During prohibition they profited from smuggling to the US. In 1931 it is reported 1,815,271 gallons of whisky were transported from Canada via St Pierre to US shores. Currently the predominant industry is fishing, mostly shellfish and squid since the collapse of the cod fisheries in the 1990’s.

Miquelon, although the larger of the two islands, only has about 600 residents compared with the 6000 in St Pierre. It is geographically interesting in that there are two distinct islands: Grand Miquelon to the north and Langlade, joined by a long isthmus sand bar. It is known for the free roaming horses that wander all over the island.

We had a good sail and tucked in to the small town marina on Miquelon. There was room on the wharf between two fishing boats. Customs was closed, but we checked in the following day, good to go.

A priority was to stock up on some fine french cheese and a baguettes. With these supplies we set out to hike around the northern point of Miquelon, Cap du Miquelon.

Looking back from the cape toward the town of Miquelon.

It was very windy, blow you off a cliff windy. The hike was about 10 miles, beautiful vistas, interesting flora and some very wet sections.

The following day we rent a couple of bicycles from where else but the food truck! Fortunately the wind had abated and the sun was shining. We rode south, 25km to Langlade. The roads were relatively flat and in good condition.

Sand dunes, part of the 7 mile sand bar that links the two islands.

Half way down the sand bar the road turned to a gravel track. On a bicycle this was not a welcome change and we quickly decided to abandon plans to transtit the whole way to Langlade. We instead had lunch and a nap atop a grassy sand dune with fine views all around. Brian even managed to get a great photo of a merlin as it hunted for lunch.

The following day we slipped our lines and sailed south to St Pierre. As we approached the island we were surrounded by puffins. They are very shy but with a characteristic flight pattern. They stayed at least 50m from the boat, almost impossible to photograph.

We tied up on the marina wharf and checked in to the office. It was late afternoon, exploring St Pierre, checking out the boulangerie and fine restaurants, could wait until the following day.

The next day turned out to be a Saints day, and as such EVERYTHING was closed. No groceries, restaurants or croissant for the very hungry crew of Helacious. We survived on ships biscuits one more day. We did look around though. In the center of town there was a large surfaced area with huge orange wall at one end. We had stumbled onto a Basque Pelote game. Teams of two played, it was similar to raquetball, but with wooden paddles and no side walls.

The tournament was part of the St Pierre Basque Festival. As each side scored the announcer updated the totals and accordion and drummer played some tunes, similar to the organ at baseball games. Between each match there were folk dances. This group performed some fancy footwork and high kicks, akin to Irish dancing.

Walking around town we peered in the windows of the shuttered stores and watched a few games of boules. We were definitely in France.

We checked the weather forecast that evening. There was a weather window for our 250 mile passage southwest back to Nova Scotia. If we missed this opportunity the winds were unfavorable for at least another week. There was no choice. The next morning we did a run to the Super-U grocery store. What a treat, wine, cheese, saucisson and glorious fresh vegetables. After 3 weeks of outport shopping and living off ships supplies, we loaded up a shopping cart and wheeled it all back to the boat. That afternoon we left St Pierre, wishing we could have enjoyed a few more days there, but ready to start the journey back to USA.

Brian Russell 8/6/23 Brian Russell 8/6/23

Newfoundland revealed.

The constant fog we had experienced so far was wearing. Sensory deprivation, no colors, no scenery. We decided to see if inland the weather was better. White Bear Bay is one of the longer fjords along this coast so we took Helacious up there. It worked! As we started the 7 mile journey into the fjord the fog thinned and the many waterfalls, no doubt engorged by the recent rains, came into view.

We anchored near the head of the bay, just past Blow Me Down Point. There were a few cabins here as the cliffs gave way to rolling hills.

We took the dinghy to the head of the fjord where it transitioned into a river. We spied a family of otters fishing- successfully pulling trout from the water one after another, then eating them on the bank. We followed for quite a while as they stayed just ahead of us, always watching to make sure we did not get too close.

The following day we decided to try and catch some of those trout. We returned to the same spot but had no luck. We met a boat of local Newfoundlanders who were just returning from fly fishing for salmon further up the river. As they left us their outboard failed to start. We ended up towing them the 2 miles back to the cabin with our little electric motor. It did surprisingly well.

After chatting to Mary and Henry, and their guests Joy and Bill, we were invited back in the afternoon to go for a hike on their trail up to the hills behind the cabin. This was wonderful as most everywhere we have been the undergrowth is impenetrable right from the waters edge. We followed the mossy trail over a stream, up through the woodland and out to the top of the hill. The views up and down White Bear Bay were spectacular. The black flies were fierce. Brian broke out the head net. Unfortunately I did not, thinking I was protected with my hood and cap; I suffered the next few days with welts on every bit of exposed skin.

From the peak we looked back to the interior of Newfoundland. It rolls on for over 100 miles before reaching a road. It was incredible to think of so much wilderness. As we scanned the hillside we saw a large male caribou browsing on vegetation and wandering in our direction. It was a fantastic 20 minutes or so before we were spotted and he turned tail and trotted off.

Back down at Henry and Mary’s cabin we sat around the fire pit and were treated to drinks chilled with iceberg ice. Bill had collected some growlers near his home on the east coast of Newfoundland. 12,000 year old freshwater ice from the glaciers of Greenland! As the ice crackled and popped in our glasses we learned about Henry and Mary’s second career as hunting guides, taking folk from all over the world into the back country to hunt for Moose, Caribou and Bear. It was a perfect day, thank you so much.

The following day we pulled up the anchor and headed eastwards down the coast. La Hune Bay was described as a “not to be missed” anchorage in our cruising guide. Of course we would not want to bypass such a spot.

The huge towering smooth slabs of pink granite, the waterfall cascading down, the lush green pasture, and the sunshine. This was perfect.

The following afternoon the wind began to pick up and our anchor began to drag. The holding in gravel was not sufficient to be comfortable overnight. We pulled up and took a very sporty trip around the headland to a different cove. Here we were sheltered from the winds, but unfortunately not the swell and we had a very rolly night. We moved on. Our next stop was a small outport called Francois (pronounced Fransway) nestled at the head of the bay at the base of some impressive cliffs.

The visitors pontoon, although plenty long for at least 6 boats, was fully occupied by two visiting yachts and a few local rowing boats, tied tightly and permanently in the middle and a chain securing the pontoon taking up the last available space. It is as if they did not want visitors. We moved over and rafted to a fishing boat on the commercial dock.

The following day rain cleared off and we went for a look around. The yards were creatively decorated and the maze of boardwalks weaving between the houses were extensive. Then a hike up and around the cliff tops, and over “The Friar’.

After buying a few supplies (milk, bread and some limp green onions) at Sharons Place grocery store we left to head for Devils Bay. On the way we were doing a little fishing for cod when this sunfish floated by.

The entrance to Devils Bay is guarded by an impressive rock. Blow Me Down Cliff ( a different One from White Bear) is on the list of rock climbing destinations. We passed on that opportunity and anchored at the head of the bay.

The next couple of days we soaked up the sun and enjoyed the results of Brians fishing trips. We smoked some of the mackerel he caught, delicious. The shy Loons who lived at the head of the bay were chased by Brian and his camera, with great results.

Our next stop was yet another “not to be missed” anchorage. Hare Bay has a very narrow entrance between towering cliffs scattered with waterfalls, then opens up to a large bay with two arms. We anchored in the northwest arm. That evening we enjoyed the sunset, the first we have seen for a while as usually our view of the western horizon is obscured by cliffs.

Sunset in Hare Bay. Below we woke up to fog, but it lifted after a couple of hours to blue skies.

We took Dingbat (the dinghy) on a long trip to the northern arm of Hare Bay. Here there was a waterfall…. not to be missed! The scenery as we puttered along was dramatic in its grandeur. The second photo has a yacht in it, so the scale of these cliffs can be appreciated.

Securing Dingbat at the base of the cascading waterfall, we clambered along the waters edge and climbed up the slab like rocks to view the falls. They were indeed, spectacular. And the volume of water!!

Despite the now outgoing tide against us, and the contrary wind, we managed to return the 5 miles to Helacious with the electric outboard, 25% left on the battery. It really is quite good. I must admit I was relieved, I had not wanted to resort to rowing the dinghy. The next few days were gusty then drizzly and overcast, good days to do some home repairs and laundry. Supplies were running low. We had to leave Canada.

Brian Russell 7/30/23 Brian Russell 7/30/23

Foggy and Boggy

Helacious anchored in Squid Hole, Newfoundland.

Crossing over Cabot Strait or “the Chuck” from Nova Scotia to Newfoundland was much more pleasant than the name would suggest. I think we were fortunate with the light winds from the previous few days keeping the seas flat. It was foggy however and we arrived in Port aux Basques early evening with just enough visibility to see the public wharf and get ourselves secured. The wind was building and it blew hard from the east for the next four days. We had doubled all the lines and hunkered down inside Helacious, the diesel heater keeping us nice and warm. We were on the leeward side of the dock, fortunately. However, it did mean getting on and off the boat was a challenge. We finally worked out a way to run a line to the winch to pull us in close enough to the dock to allow us to clamber off.

The boat tied up in front of us was from Norway, they recognized Helacious from our stay in Tromso last year!

Port aux Basques is not picturesque. It is functional and the buildings were very basic. Maybe it was due to the weather, but we saw very little activity. The streets were deserted by 5pm and it seemed the evening entertainment was to sit at the dock in your car, watching us and maybe the ferry arrive.

Finally the wind eased, although it was still from the east, but we were determined to move on. We called harbor control to get permission to depart. This was necessary as the entrance was extremely narrow and the giant ferries, once they get moving, go very fast, impossible to outrun. We were given permission - the ferry was not due to depart for another hour. We slipped our lines and were heading out to the channel when hailed on the radio. The ferry decided it was going to leave NOW, and we were in its way. We managed to dodge out of the channel to let it fly by. So much for a timetable.

We motored just 5 miles down the coast and popped into a lovely circular anchorage called Squid Hole. It had a narrow entrance, but then opened up and was protected from wind and swell 360 degrees. It was damp and foggy, but Brian was determined to go fishing, so off he went. The fish were not biting today, but the fog did lift and the sun came out, so we took the dinghy in to shore to see if we could hike up to a high spot for photo opportunity. We discovered, once ashore, the deceptively green and lush foliage covered thick boggy land, that occasionally gave way to small ponds, sometimes right under your feet. The occasional dense stands of juniper trees were impenetrable, so we had to make do with a short hike to a more modest viewpoint.

As we were walking around, within ten minutes the fog descended again, and Helacious began to disappear into the mist.

The following day we motored on down the coast, the wind still from the east. We stopped for a while over a shallower bank and threw out the fishing lines. What a haul. Brian caught 4 cod and 2 huge mackerel. We had bought our fishing license in Port aux Basques so knew the limit was 5 a day per person for cod (fishing only Saturday thru Monday). No limit on mackerel. Dinner that night was beer battered cod.

Rose Blanche, our next stop is the last settlement along the south coast road to the east. After Rose Blanche the only access to any of the communities along this coast is by boat. It seemed a lot more vibrant than Port aux Basques, the houses were still utilitarian, but colorful. There was the sound of hammering as people were fixing the docks that had been destroyed just last September by hurricane Fiona. We spent the night rafted up to a lobster boat, our timing was perfect, the season ended the previous day, so we were not going to be asked to move at 0600hr. The next day was….foggy, but we headed out to visit the lighthouse regardless. It is the main attraction here in Rose Blanche.

The walk by road to the lighthouse was quite a distance, however as roads were not so important here, most of the houses around the inlets were connected by a lovely grassy footpath. We set out on Big Bottom Trail, and things only got better! The fog made everything so mysterious, it was a delightful walk.

We interrupted John Wright as he was taking some recently glazed bowls to his kiln. He invited us in to see his work, then his wife Jane joined us and soon we were being served lattes in the studio.

The walk on to the lighthouse continued to delight us.

Rose Blanche lighthouse, built 1871, restored 1999.

The fog lifted and as we walked back toward Rose Blanche, it looked quite different. We stopped to admire a set of moose horns displayed on a garage when the homeowner popped out and invited us to see the ones her husband had carved. Well who could resist? We got a tour of his workshop and saw the product of a winters work on display in his “shed”.

After a late lunch, we untied the lines and moved around to a nearby bay for the night. The waterfall at the head of the bay was most impressive.

A couple of days later found us in La Poile, our first outport. La Poile (pronounced La P-oil) has no road access, it is totally reliant on the daily ferry from Rose Blanche. The 60-70 permanent residents that live here get around on 4-wheelers along the concrete pathway that wends its way down the side of the bay. The stacks of firewood spoke to the main source of heating fuel and we watched as a very necessary appliance was delivered to the dock.

Helacious tied to the public wharf in La Poile.

An anxious resident waiting for the ferry to dock.

The next morning we as we prepared to leave we were pleasantly surprised to see the fog lifting. For a brief time we enjoyed seeing the landscape that surrounded us, and as we sailed along the coast we could see hints of the mountainous interior. The fog bank was never far away though.

An afternoon of clear skies allowed us to enjoy exploring the shoreline of Culotte Cove. We dug for clams and squelched through the bog looking at pitcher plants.

The following day it was back to fog as usual and we motorsailed on to Burgeo. Here we tied to the government dock just out of reach of the ferry and stayed for a couple of days as the rain passed through.

Walking around the town of Burgeo we found a prime example of efficiency, the hardware store and lumber company sharing space with the state liquor store. What could possibly go wrong? The views along the coastline from Sandbanks park were lovely. However we were not here in Newfoundland for hazy vistas, if the weather did not improve we would be heading south. We needed some sunshine. A constant refrain has been “ This is a most unusually foggy summer. It is not normally like this. Inland, just 5 miles, the weather is lovely”. We decided to find out if this was true.

Brian Russell 7/18/23 Brian Russell 7/18/23

Lake sailing

Helacious at anchor in Bras d’Or Lake (photo credit Jerry Callen)

A day sail northeast from Halifax brings you to the stretch of coastline commonly referred to as the Eastern Shore. It is a cruisers dream. Many uninhabited rocky islands, sandy beaches and sheltered coves. We spent a few days exploring as we worked our way up the coast. The navigation between rocky islands was fun and challenging, however with just a single headsail it was not too difficult.

The first stop, Wolfes Island had a beautiful sandy beach littered with empty crab shells and claws, evidence of good pickings for the seagulls. There was the biggest quartz rock I have ever seen, just jutting out of the sand.

The second anchorage was Shelter Bay, again, the bay was deserted but for us and apparently a bear. The area was breathtakingly beautiful. Brian broke out the fishing pole and caught us some very small mackerel which we enjoyed for breakfast the following day.

Our final stop along this section of coastline was in the shelter of Pyches Island. Here we sat on the beach and watched a North American mink bring its fish dinner in from the ocean. We also spotted a Bald Eagle nest with a juvenile resolutely sitting in the tree and an adult trying to draw us away. They were not happy we were so close.

Tropical storm Cindy was heading our way from the Caribbean via Bermuda. The forecast was still uncertain, would it intensify, or would it fizzle away. We did not want to be caught out on an exposed southern shore, so we got up early and set off, heading for Bras d’Or Lake where we would be able to find shelter if needed. It was a couple of days sail. We stopped overnight in Spanish Ship Bay, arriving in glorious sunshine. Soon after dropping anchor a local fishing boat swung by to have a chat. The fisherman lived on the bay and offered us the use of his truck, even though he was going to be away for the next couple of days, he would just leave the keys in the truck for us! Where else does this happen? It turned out we opted to move on early the next morning, unable to take this kind gentleman up on his offer. It was a long 14 hour day, sailing in thick fog until the very end as we came inland approaching the lock entrance to Bras d’Or at St Peters.

The fog clears approaching Bras d’Or Lake

We tied up to the walls of the lock overnight and the next morning were locked in to Bras d’Or Lake. We spent one night on the pontoon at St Peters marina and stocked up on some groceries before heading off to explore the lakes.

Bras d’Or Lake is a large brackish water inland lake in Cape Breton at the north eastern end of Nova Scotia. It is connected to the ocean via a long tidal inlet to the north and accessible from the south via a small canal and lock. The lake is approximately 45 miles long by 10 miles at the widest point. It was settled by Scottish immigrants from the mid 1700’s, many names were of Scottish origin and there is a strong Gaelic tradition in the music. In addition to the Scottish influence the indigenous Mi’kmaq peoples are also well established here with a number of communities around the lake. Unfortunately as we explored the many anchorages the persistent fog barely lifted, and we were denied a true glimpse of the majesty of this area. Maybe another time.

The one afternoon of sunshine we had we took a hike to explore some Gypsum cliffs. The trail was through lovely mossy pine forest with spring flowers and colorful frogs. We found a beaver dam and some impressive footprints, moose?

Moving on we transited the narrows at Barra Straight, calling the bridge to request an opening.

We spent a few lovely days in Baddeck, the main town center of the whole lake system. It was Canada day and we enjoyed the Craft fair/farmers market, a parade, local music and fireworks. Unfortunately it was so soggy and foggy I took no photos at all. The Alexander Graham Bell museum was very interesting. Who knew he had a lifetime interest in helping the deaf communicate, Helen Keller being one of those assisted. In addition to his interest in speech and sound, his later inventions involved aeronautics and hydrofoils, a very creative mind. We made new friends, visiting each others boats is a great way to spend an afternoon, looking for ideas to incorporate into your own floating home. Thanks SV Idril for the great photos and SV Chelsea for the delicious scones.

It was now the second week in July and time to move on. We were up predawn to catch the tide heading north out of Bras d’Or Lake. There were a couple of quite narrow sections where we were very pleased we had timed our passage perfectly, not a current I would want to be fighting.

The north eastern most part of Nova Scotia is called Cape Breton. Much of it is a National Park and has a the dramatic scenery I somehow expected for all of Nova Scotia. It did indeed resemble its namesake, Scotland. We tucked into a bay at Ingonish, protected from the ocean by a long rocky bar with a very narrow entrance. The buoys marking the entrance were off position and the many lobster pots with very long floating lines made navigating into the bay a hair-raising experience.

Looking out across the bar protecting Ingonish Bay.

The sun came out and immediately the temperature rose. We hiked out on Middlehead trail to the tip, not quite the easternmost point in Nova Scotia., but close. It was a lovely hike and the dip in the water when we returned home was refreshing.

The view from Helacious, what a difference a day makes!

We left Nova Scotia the following day, fog swirled around us as we threaded our way back out of the inlet between lobster pots. Newfoundland bound.

Brian Russell 7/9/23 Brian Russell 7/9/23

Nova Scotia

Our crossing from Bermuda took 6 days. There was more motoring than we would have liked (a cruisers dirty little secret), but the long term forecast would have had us trapped in Bermuda for another two weeks. We crossed the gulf stream in flat water, which was just fine for us, then a sporty sail in the last 24 hours, trying to reach safe harbor ahead of a gale. We were intending to make landfall in Halifax, the capital. The winds associated with the developing gale forced us to turn west instead and make for Shelburne, the next official port of entry. About 2 days out we were informed that Nova Scotia’s largest ever wildfire was currently raging just west of Shelburne. The fire fighting planes were using the bay to scoop up water to fight the fire. We had seen some evidence of the smoke filled skies in the hazy sunrise as we approached land. The bay was closed to marine traffic so as not to impede the firefighting efforts. Then we found out Shelburne itself was evacuated; we were not going to be able to arrive there for customs clearance. Unable to head to Halifax, and unwilling to travel even further west to Yarmouth, the next port of entry, we tucked into Lockeport, a fishing village just east of Shelburne, south of Liverpool, and phoned the Canadian customs. It took 10 minutes and we were cleared in, totally reasonable and understanding of our plight. What a relief.

Lockeport was a fishing village, the public wharf was full of lobster boats that were evacuated from Shelburne. We rafted up to one in the pouring rain, hoping our new neighbor was okay with that. In the afternoon we met Eddie and arranged to help him pump his bilges in the evening, saving him from having to drive out to the boat from his home. The gale arrived and for two days we were trapped on Helacious, literally. When we tried to disembark between rain showers, we found the boats were blown off the dock in the wind and we could not jump the gap, nor pull the boats in toward the dock.

We were not bored, there was a flock of Eider ducks in the harbor. The females were caring for a large number of brand new ducklings. We watched in dismay over the next few days as a number of ducklings were picked off by the seagulls, 24 to 18 to 14….. nature can be very cruel.

Lockeport is not large. Despite that it had a historic district with Victorian houses, well maintained and colorfully painted. The General Store was stocked with bare essentials, and the beach was clean and ready for the summer crowds, if only the sun would come out.

We were looking for lobster and were directed to the warehouses of Cotters distribution. The proprietor, Michael Cotter, was a friendly fellow who gave us a guided tour of his business. The many tanks of bubbling sea water were each packed with crates of live lobster. Over 200,000lb of live lobster were in this single warehouse. The plastic bins contained lobster that had been graded, weighed and deemed suitable for top dollar sale (2 claws present). They were kept in the bins in refrigerated sea water, in stasis so to speak, dormant and ready for shipping all over the world. These days, he told us, the main customer was China, they pay well and promptly. There was another tank with the less than perfect lobster, their destination was the processing plant. We were surprised and very grateful when he loaded a bag with 4 lobster, gave us instructions on their cooking and refused payment.

Carter Beach, an anchorage on the way to Lunenburg.

We left Lockeport and made our way up the coast toward Lunenburg, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is famous for its architecture, much of the downtown has the original 18th and 19th century buildings making the waterfront quite colorful. We enjoyed wandering around the town and the museum. Celebrated an anniversary at a seafood restaurant and met a number of OCC members, discovering the benefit of membership with the loan of a mooring for the night and making new friends.

After a couple of days we moved on up to Halifax. Once again we used our OCC membership contacts and were very grateful when the Halifax port officer offered to take us on a provisioning run to Costco, a state run liquor store and to get some oil. We filled Johns car to the brim. Thank you.

Jake was visiting at the same time for a meeting and we enjoyed having him and some friends onboard to visit. After his meeting was finished we went for a sail, swinging along the waterfront of downtown Halifax before heading to a cove on McNabs island in the inlet to Halifax. There was a great hike from the anchorage, down the spine of the island in a deeply mossy pine forest.

We spent a day in Halifax, enjoying the art gallery and maritime museum. On the final day of Jakes visit, it was gloomy and grey, threatening to rain. We were rescued by Eric, from the Armdale Yacht club, who invited us to join him on a couple of the Blue Nose dinghies in the club regatta. It was such fun.

Armdale Yacht club, very active and a great stop.

Jake left and we finished up some boat projects. The inverter, a very expensive box of electronics that we use to convert battery DC power to appliance friendly AC power decided to quit. It could not have happened at a more fortuitous place. The well stocked and unbeatable prices of The Binnacle yacht chandlery was just a 10 minute walk from the yacht club. We bought and installed a replacement. We also put in an order for new batteries which we will pick up and instal on our return journey south. Before we could spend any more money we pulled up the anchor and set sail.

Brian Russell 6/11/23 Brian Russell 6/11/23

Bermuda blues

We arrived in Bermuda in the morning after a 6 day passage from the Caribbean. It was a good passage, a little motoring but mostly beam reach sailing. Our anchor dram and passage celebratory drink was none other than the traditional Bermudan cocktail, a Dark and Stormy. We even found the correct ginger beer in the ships stores to make it. After a well deserved nap we cleaned up the boat a little and finally found the source of that odd smell Helen had been complaining about: a flying fish had entered through the salon hatch and expired in the back of the bookcase, hidden for the duration of the passage. Incredible.

The next day was bright and sunny so we took the dinghy in to explore. Bermuda was settled in the early 17th century following the shipwreck of the Sea Venture, a boat heading for the colonies in Jamestown. The stranded crew fashioned two new boats, the Deliverance and Patience from what they could salvage from the shipwreck and using local timber. After 9 months enjoying the plentiful supplies in Bermuda many of the stranded crew were not thrilled to continue on to the failing colony of Jamestown. This shipwreck story is said to have inspired William Shakespeare’s The Tempest.

St Georges is the site of the original settlement on one of the six main islands that make up Bermuda. It is not a large town, wrapping around the harbor, its candy colored houses and white roofs are very pretty. The buildings are all solidly built, able to stand up to hurricane force winds. The unique clinker-style roofs are designed to capture valuable water, directing it into cisterns.

There are signs of the historical and British influence all over, not least the road names.

We walk up to St Peters, the largest of the many churches, and enjoy looking around the graveyard. Such poignant stories can be discovered. The slave graveyard toward the back was unusual for the time I am sure, noticeably smaller markers, but at least there was a final resting place.

There was even one church that was started, but never finished. Politics got in the way. It was interesting, usually roofless buildings are in the process of falling down, but in this case the walls were still quite sturdy and intact. Beautiful in a strange way.

Walking across the island we get to the north shore and finally get an idea about why the coastline around Bermuda is so dangerous for sailors. The reefs are wicked and protect the north and western shores for 10 miles out.

Bermuda is chock a block with forts. Its pivotal role as a maritime station for fleets from both sides of the Atlantic, during colonial wars through to the world wars of the last century have left their mark. We visited Fort Catherine, built to defend the north eastern tip of the island just as they were closing. We were invited up to help lower the flag from the tower rooftop. I somehow expected a little reverence for the flag, too many years in flag respecting USA I guess, but to see it stuffed unceremoniously over a staircase railing for the night struck me as not quite right.

We had another day of nice sunny skies to wander around St Georges, the spring flowers were in full bloom and we enjoyed discovering a new to us bird, the Kiskadee.

And then it rained, and rained, and rained.

We. had one more day of good weather which we grabbed and armed with our transport pass we hopped on a morning bus to Hamilton, the capital city of Bermuda. Hamilton is not as quaint as St Georges, it is a city after all. Stores, offices, government buildings.

We took the ferry across the bay to the historical dockyards area. This is where the cruise ships that have gotten so big they cannot squeeze into St Georges tie up. There was one on the dock, but the passengers must have been off shopping, the Royal Naval Dockyard, fort and museum that we came to visit was practically empty.

The National museum of Bermuda was in the fort, the exhibits displayed in the Governors mansion on the hilltop.

The mural depicting 500 years of Bermudan history, from the first discovery in 1505 to 2009.

The highlight of the museum for me was this mural. It wrapped around the stairwell in the governors mansion and described the history of Bermuda. It took the artist, Graham Foster 3 1/2 years to complete and the details in the paintings were just wonderful. He depicted major historical moments but more fascinating were the more mundane domestic historical scenes; the whaling industry, slave auctions, and the ducking chair used amongst other things for determining if a woman was indeed a witch (if she survived she was, if she died she was not).

The views out over the reef strewn waters were lovely, that intense blue color makes you want to go sailing! There were nests recently built in to the fort walls to encourage the establishment of a colony of the beautiful White-tailed Tropicbird.

Another interesting exhibit was about the local pilot boats, used to go out and provide a pilot to guide visiting ships safely through the reefs into the harbor. They were impossibly long, built for speed so as to reach the ship first to get the business.

Back in St Georges we were waiting for suitable weather to make the crossing from Bermuda to Nova Scotia. This was not a passage we were looking forward to. A year ago friends of ours began the same journey, but tragically did not arrive. https://www.bwsailing.com/anatomy-of-a-tragedy-at-sea/

We were taking planning very, very seriously. The danger of this particular passage is the necessity of crossing the Gulf Stream, a huge river of warm water flowing northeast at 3-4 knots through the Atlantic towards northern Europe; if there is any wind in a contrary direction to the flow of the water, waves rapidly build and it can become dangerously rough. The problem we were having was that there was a near constant cycle of weather that had streams of easterly winds moving down from Nova Scotia. Our timing had to be perfect.

As we waited we saw our neighbors had run into a little problem. When they tried to raise their anchor, they discovered the chain had gotten wrapped around an unmarked submerged piling. They had to call in the divers to free them. It was a process that took all day. We worried were we stuck too? It turned out we were not! Finally after 10 days in Bermuda we pulled up our anchor, filled up on fuel, checked out with customs and sailed out of St Georges cut, Nova Scotia bound.

Brian Russell 6/4/23 Brian Russell 6/4/23

Passage preparation

Leaving St Martin on passage to Bermuda.

We arrive in St Martin at the beginning of May. We are now in passage preparation mode and not really thinking of being tourists. St Martin is not a particularly large island yet it is managed by two overseas governments, France and Netherlands. We anchored on the French side, in Marigot Bay, having discovered the ease and economy of the French immigration formalities. Once established we are able to visit the Dutch side with no issues, so there is nothing to be gained by paying more for the privilege of anchoring on the Dutch side.

Marigot Bay, St Martin showing the lagoon over to the bridge and the Dutch side.

The town of Marigot spreads along the length of Marigot Bay. Behind the narrow spit of land there is a large lagoon which can be accessed through a drawbridge. The water inside the lagoon on the French side is very shallow and not suitable for our 6ft draft. It is however fine for the dinghy, and we were able to zip over to the Dutch side with ease to access the big box stores and larger chandelries that they had. Perfect for our mission of passage prep.

We spend most of our 10 days in St Martin making trips to the various grocery stores. Walking around town was interesting, but not particularly scenic. There were some colorful murals and the central market was always lively with stalls selling souvenir dresses, T-shirts and the like to the visiting tourists. They were not aimed at us penny pinching cruisers.

Fort St Louis looms over the northern end of the bay and gives fine views of the area. We enjoy meeting some other OCC (Ocean Cruising Club) members for happy hour and pizza and we exchange notes of upcoming weather and ports we have enjoyed. Soon it is time to leave, there is a weather window that will take us safely to Bermuda, but we have to go and sail fast.

We leave St Martin May 12th 2023 under grey skies. The first day sailing we were on the lookout for squalls, using the radar to determine their path and plot avoidance strategies.

The six and a half day passage gave us some beautiful sunrises and sunsets.

Our passage was quite fast, we averaged 167nm a day. The fishing lines went out during the slower periods and we caught a nice Wahoo which fit perfectly in the freezer, after enjoying a fresh fillet for dinner.

Toward the end we slowed down intentionally to arrive during daylight hours. Bermuda is surrounded by reefs and the passage into the harbor is narrow and potentially very confusing in the dark. Trying to distinguish between navigation lights on the buoys, mast head lights and lights on shore when sleep deprived is not easy. We therefore arrived at 8am motoring through St Georges Cut and straight onto the customs dock to check in. Our timing was perfect. That evening the winds climbed as a strong weather front crept down from the north and settled over Bermuda. We will be here a while.

Brian Russell 5/26/23 Brian Russell 5/26/23

Return to Antigua

We sail to Antigua and just catch our friends on SV Wychcraft and SV Gerty before they leave. We have a lovely evening together where we tell stories about all that had happened since we last met them in Cape Verde (SV Wychcraft) and the Azores (SV Gerty). The next day we parted ways again. It is amazing to me that such a gathering could ever happen. We each met the other two boats independently, yet recognized the same kindred spirit, kept in touch and made this connection of the three boats.

We also helped out the crew of SV Zora with some metal work on Rhys’ wind vane steering oar. We first met Zora in Martinique, however we had corresponded with them years before through the boat building project. Rhys rebuilt his boat from a bare hull in Ireland and has posted some Youtube videos of the project.

The next few days we prepared the boat to leave her in Antigua as we were to return home for a month to attend to Brent and Kianna’s wedding. We had made a reservation at the marina in Jolly Harbor, but at the last minute we were offered the use of a dock behind a condominium at a fraction of the cost. This was perfect and at the end of February we moved her in place and flew home.

It was so nice to have the family back together and to celebrate with Brent and Kianna on their wedding day. The weather turned out perfectly and all our hard work to get the house back in tip top shape after 11 months absence was well worth it.

Before we knew it, a month had passed and we flew back to Helacious in Antigua with much more luggage than we went home with. New solar panels, new foul weather gear, new parts, spare parts. We had a few days to get some projects done before guests arrived, so out came the sewing machine.

An extra 100 watts added to our solar bank.

While we were in Freemans Bay the last of the Talisker trans-Atlantic solo rowers arrived. A Norwegian lady had rowed from the Canary Islands to Antigua, it took her 113 days. It was so much fun to be present for the event, the airhorns and cheers from anchored boats were deafening.

With our good friends Lee and Lys we explored English Harbor and climbed Shirley Heights. It was just as steep as I remembered from two years ago. The cacti and flowers were just as beautiful.

We walked out to the Fort and up the hill for the fine views

We sailed over to Green Island and scored lobster one evening for dinner. Only locals are allowed to spear fish so we were fortunate it was Easter weekend and a local family had simply caught too many for their celebrations, they came and offered a couple to us.

Then it was just us two again, we decided to head up to Barbuda for a short break. Barbuda is about 30nm north of Antigua, but under the same governance. In fact we were hoping we could spend a few days there, then check out from Barbuda, instead of having to sail back south to Antigua merely for customs and immigration clearance. However after 5 days in Barbuda, our supplies were running low and there was insufficient wind for our onward passage, so we reluctantly returned for a few days until we could leave and sail north to St Martin.

While in Barbuda we had some wonderful sunsets and the water was so calm and clear we could see the anchor chain winding away from the boat.

We also treated ourselves to an early farewell Caribbean luncheon at a very nice resort out on the tip of Barbuda, called Barbuda Belle. Lunch was lovely, but staying a night in the cabins at over $1500 a night seemed a little steep to us (the WiFi was free!).

Sailing back to Antigua we caught an enormous Spanish Mackerel. We filleted it, and only then read up on the incidence of ciguatera poisoning in the Caribbean. In every article we found the one common fish mentioned was Spanish Mackerel. We reluctantly, and guiltily discarded our catch back into the ocean. It was just not worth the risk to get poisoned by this dangerous and unpredictable neurotoxin. That would quickly put an end to our trip. A lesson was learned, no more fishing in warm shallow waters.

We waited for the weather window for our passage north. Finally winds were from the SE and sufficient to move Helacious onwards. We set sail the afternoon of April 30th and sailed an overnight passage to arrive the next morning in Marigot Bay, St Martin.

Brian Russell 5/19/23 Brian Russell 5/19/23

Coconut rum

Flavored rums for sale in the central market, Basse-Terre.

Guadeloupe is an island with a split personality-geographically speaking. If you look at a chart it resembles a butterfly with two distinct wings. The western most island is mountainous and forested, while the easternmost part is much flatter and more agricultural. They are separated by a narrow and shallow river/canal, not navigable except by dinghy due to a low bridge. We only spent a short time in Guadeloupe visiting from the western shore, so fully intend to return and live up to Helacious’ motto and “explore more”.

Approaching the SW coastline of Guadeloupe.

We anchored in a roadstead anchorage as the weather was calm. It was literally alongside the main coastal road, but gave little protection should the wind pipe up. Nevertheless this was close to Basse-Terre, the island’s second largest town and its capital, so was a perfect place given the conditions.

Anchorage at Rivière Sens, near Basse-Terre

The next day along with the crew of SV BeBe we went to explore Basse-Terre and to find a lunch spot to celebrate Valentines day. We tied the dinghy up in the marina and walked along the river walk into town. Basse-Terre felt forgotten, the once elegant buildings covered with vines and peeling paint.

The central market was large and full of vegetable stalls, handcrafted goods, spices and the flavored rums, Oh my!

Helen with a most charming (and very tall) vegetable seller.

In contrast to the back streets, the center of town was buzzing with activity and we had not seen so many stores open for business since leaving Europe. We found our restaurant, JP-JF, the maker of all those flavored rums, and enjoyed a fine creole curry lunch, complete with a Valentines day rose for the ladies. On the counter were a selection of the flavored rums for us to sample. We discovered the coconut rum to be most delicious and came away with a bottle.

The next day we found a trail that lead up a river valley from our anchorage. It was quite tricky as the path was a mass of rocks and roots.The foliage was large and quite different to what we had seen before. At the summit we discovered the Guadeloupe Observatory for Volcanic Studies. We went in even though it was not actually open to the public (well the door was open) and we were given a brief description of the work they do there monitoring tremors in the earths crust throughout the Caribbean basin.

Along the path we encountered many leaf cutter ants, so difficult to photograph, so fascinating to watch. It is interesting how they decimate a single leaf down to the veins, yet not touch neighboring leaves.

The next day we moved on to the small town of Bouillante, meaning “boiling”. There is nothing to particularly commend this town other than the geothermal power plant, providing electricity for the area using superheated water from just below the earth's crust, which then discharges the coolant water into the bay. This effectively provides a spa experience and was a popular spot for sundowners for locals as well as cruisers.

The next bay north was on my ‘must do’ list for Guadeloupe, The Jaques Cousteau National Maritime Park. There is an island, Pigeon Island, in the bay that has wonderful snorkeling. We had to wait a few days for the weather to be calm enough, but when it was we took the dinghy over, tied to a park mooring and checked it out.

We were joined at Pigeon Island by both SV BeBe and SV Miles2Go and enjoyed evenings of sundowners and lessons in splicing. Such good friendships are made, the lifestyle has already filtered for like minded people, the rest is so easy. We will be seeing y’all again.

Our last stop in Guadeloupe was Deshaies, a picturesque fishing village toward the northern tip of the west coast. It is a deep bay and quite crowded as it is the only checking in/out place for miles. We snagged a mooring thanks to Miles2Go who were ahead of us and we settled in for a few days. Our neighbor in the bay was the Golden Globe Race boat of Arnaud Gaist who had retired from the race in the south Atlantic due to fouling with barnacles and weakened mast.

The following day we climbed the hill behind the village to visit the wonderful botanical garden, Jardin Botanique de Deshaies. In addition to the lovely native plantings, there was an aviary of lorikeets, flamingoes and lovely water features.

At the end of February we popped in to the boutique store in Deshaies and logged on to the computer to check out of the French islands. We had to get to Antigua where we planned on leaving Helacious for a month while we went home to have a wedding. We had thoroughly enjoyed our cruising this season, many places we plan to return to and explore more.

Brian Russell 5/9/23 Brian Russell 5/9/23

Les Saintes, a treasure.

Sunset from Portsmouth harbor, Dominica.

A couple of day sails north and we left the Windward islands behind us and entered the Leewards. We stopped overnight in Portsmouth Bay, Dominica and put up our Q flag, but as we did not land we sailed on the next day without checking in. Les Saintes are a cluster of small islands situated between Dominica to the south and Guadeloupe to the north. We arrived in the sheltered bay off Terre de Haut, Iles des Saintes and tied up to one of the highly sought after and hard to come by mooring balls, saved for us by good friends Lori and Dan on SV BeBe. Anchoring is not permitted in the bay, it is busy with ferry traffic, very deep and full of mooring balls. There are few spots and little room for a boat to swing at anchor. It also seems that since covid times there has been some disconnect with local officials and there is no-one in charge of collecting fees for the moorings, consequently we were able to stay here for 10 days, gratis.

The view from Helacious of Bourg des Saintes, the only town in Les Saintes.

Iles des Saintes is part of Guadeloupe and a department of France. We could check in here and then check out later in Guadeloupe. Customs and immigration in the French islands is a lesson to all. A self serve computer terminal, in this case above a cafe, and a minimal 5Eu fee completes the process. A walk around town was very pleasant, the houses all well maintained. Business was obviously good with a steady stream of ferries bringing day guests from “mainland” Guadeloupe. With the crew of BeBe we visited Fort Napoleon overlooking the bay.

The fort housed an eclectic museum with displays of colonial domestic life, flora and fauna of the islands, marine history and some rather alarming pictures of the native population and their diet.

I did enjoy this illustration with the ditty written below. I wish I had captured it all.

With Lori and Dan we walked over to Baie de Pompierre, hoping for a nice beach day. Unfortunately it was extremely windy and piles of sargassum weed choked the shore line. Instead we walked up along the ridge overlooking Baie du Marigot for some fine views. We were then rewarded for our efforts by a fine creole lunch.

The following day was still high winds precluding swimming or snorkeling, so we walked to the other side of the island and checked out the rhum punches there.

A treat. Menu Surprise was most delicious.

Life afloat is not all beaches, rhum punches and fine dining. There is work to be done. We had finally had enough of the Cape Horn self steering wind vane boondoggle that graced the swim platform on the back of our boat. It was in the way for using the platform easily and whenever we raised or lowered the dinghy it got caught on the steering oar and threatened to poke a hole in the dinghy. We had tried many times, with infinite adjustments to make it work, finally coming to the sad conclusion that Helacious is a big girl. Simply too heavy to be steered by this system in a reliable manner. It had to go.

One last trip in Iles des Saintes with the crew of SV BeBe and SV Miles2Go was to Ilet à Cabrit. The wind had died by now and we took the dinghies and snorkel gear over to the small island adjacent to Terre de Haut. Here the remains of Fort Josephine commanded fine views across to the main island.

We left the following day in the company of SV BeBe and sailed north to Guadeloupe.

Brian Russell 5/4/23 Brian Russell 5/4/23

Windward sailing: Martinique

The crossing from Bequia to Martinique took a couple of days, we stopped overnight in St Lucia and left early the next morning, no need to check in. Our first stop was St Anne, a small town with huge sandy bay, and correspondingly enormous number of anchored sailboats. It was the busiest place we had been for quite a while. Just a little further up into the bay is Marin, a larger town and with its huge marina, it is a center for boat work of all kinds.

We based ourselves in St Anne, but took the dinghy in to Marin to stock up on groceries at the much larger stores. It was such a treat to see cheese, pate and cheap wine again, it felt so very French. The fridge was once again full of goodies for us to enjoy. We introduced ourselves to Jenn and Mike on Sanitas via our mutual friends Lori and Dan on BeBe. They had been in St Anne for a while and knew some great hikes, so we went with them on the walk around the point to Grande Anse Salines, a beautiful and popular beach with many beach side restaurants. It was such a long beach however it did not feel at all crowded despite the many visitors. We had a lovely lunch and walk back on the sandy trail through mangroves and woodland.

We rented a car for a couple of days and explored inland. Martinique is the largest of the Windward islands and as the only safe harbors and anchorages are on the leeward side of the island, one could easily miss much of what there is to see. It is quite mountainous, the northernmost tip dominated by the peak of Mt Pelée. We drove up the east coast and visited our first true Rhum Agricole distillery. We selected Rhum Clément as they also have a wonderful sculpture garden in the grounds.

On Martinique they are justifiably proud of their Rhum Agricole, that is spirit made from freshly pressed sugar cane as opposed to Rum, which is made from molasses (an industrial by product of sugar production). The land all around the site was full of sugar cane fields presumably supplying the raw material. We were looking forward to the tasting and tour, but first we enjoyed the art.

There was also an original sugar cane press, with three large drums for squeezing the cane, and you could see where the syrup flowed out. There were four large warehouses storing the barrels of rhum, each stacked in a different way, with quite an intoxicating aroma.

The tour was interesting, the grounds lovely. What was missing was any reference to the labor used to establish this very successful business. Martinique has a horrific record of slavery, approximately twice as many enslaved Africans went to Martinique and Guadeloupe as went to all of the US. It was not mentioned at all here at the distillery, nor throughout any of the places we visited on these islands. It seems blotted from the history books and is a lost opportunity to educate and learn from the past.

Back in St Anne’s we heard of a regatta that was about to start. It was a race with the traditional local sailing boats called yole. They are light, fast, shallow draught sailboats, hand made from wood about 10m long. They have two square sails hoisted up unstayed bamboo masts kept upright by a long line from the mast top and a crewman counterbalancing the sail. With no keel they are very unstable but extremely fast. Instead of the ballast usually found in the keel they have a crew of many large men who balance the boat by hanging on to poles that stretch out over the water. The boat is steered by a long oar off the back and tacking somehow involves the crew at the mast swinging around on a rope and the paddling of oars to help turn the boat around. It frequently does not go to plan and we saw more than one boat slowly sinking as it was towed back to the beach.

Yole sailing in the regatta with Diamond rock as a backdrop.

A couple of weeks passed very pleasantly in St Annes, catching up with old friends (SV Kalli) and making new friends (SV Zora, SV Razorbill and SV Sanitas). We left to continue north and explore some less busy anchorages up the coast. Diamond Rock is quite the landmark sitting off the southwest corner of Martinique. In 1804 it was commissioned into use by the Royal Navy, HMS Diamond Rock officially became a war sloop. Cannons were hauled up its steep sides to protect the southern shores of Martinique and the straits between St Lucia and Martinique from the French Navy. It was most effective for over a year but Napoleon was incensed and sent his Admiral to recapture the rock. Finally in May 1805 Diamond Rock returned to French control, and Martinique along with it.

Our first stop was Les Anses d’Arlet with the most picturesque church at the head of the quay. We enjoyed the fresh croissant from the bakery in the morning, warm baguettes and a great hike over the headland to the next bay of Grand Anse d’Arlet.

We tucked in and out of a couple more bays, Grand Anse d’Arlet and Anse Dufour. Each time we checked out the snorkeling and what was onshore. In Anse Dufour we had a wonderful underwater encounter with a sea turtle, usually very shy, this one slowly swam away, teasing us to try and keep up.

The capital of Martinique is Fort de France. We looked at it from across the bay and it looked, well, like a city. Not appealing at all. We were not in need of any shopping trips, our supplies were well stocked, so we passed by and sailed on up to St Pierre, an interesting town near the north end of the island, and a port where we could check out of Martinique.

St Pierre has a very interesting history. In the late nineteenth century St Pierre was the Paris of the Caribbean. The wealth of all the sugar plantations was concentrated here and consequently it became the commercial and social center of the island. This all changed on May 8th 1902 when Mt Pelée, the volcano that loomed over the town, erupted in such a violent fashion the town was destroyed along with the 30,000 inhabitants. One survivor, Louis-Auguste Cyparis was a prisoner in a stone cell at the jail. We went to check it out.

Evidence of buildings past were everywhere, many old walls incorporated into new structures. Grand staircases to nowhere and churches laid out like blueprints. Finally we got to the old prison site.

The isolation cell that saved Louis-Auguste Cyparis.

The non historical part of St Pierre felt very rundown. It was a shame as a lot of the abandoned buildings obviously had good bones, and were quite elegant in their day. If only the money and a will were there to fix things up.

We heard of a very interesting hike up in the hills behind St Pierre along the Canal de Beauregard. We caught the 8am bus from the town square and headed up into the hills. The canal was built to bring water from the hills down to the plantations nearer the coast. The scenery was so rugged and the drop offs so steep, one can only imagine the toll such a project must have taken.

The walk from where the bus dropped us down to the start of the hike took us through an area of homes with small holdings, corn, banana, dasheen and goats. We chatted with the dasheen farmer who was tending his patch. When we asked if we could photograph him, he whipped off his hat, shook his dreadlocks free and posed. What a character.

The trail along the canal began with a tunnel, so reminiscent of the Levadas in Madeira. We walked along the 18inch canal wall, water rushing by on our right, and occasionally overflowing the wall, tumbling down the steep hillside on our left. Our companion, a small dog that we had picked up as we walked by the small farms stayed with us for over half the way.

The overflowing walls were rather concerning as we imagined the undercutting of the centuries old construction. After a while however we came across a work crew who were clearing out the waterway of mud and debris, thereafter the flow was reduced and far less destructive.

The final activity in Martinique was to locate and dive the underwater sculpture of Maman d’Lo. A siren buried in the sand in about 15 feet of water. We snorkelled over a couple of boat wrecks, also in shallow water, that were slowly becoming quite lively habitats. This was so good to see as much of the coral reefs we have visited are sick and noticeably less vital than even two years ago.

We left Martinique having thoroughly enjoyed our few weeks there. The support from France was obvious in the well maintained roads, ubiquitous boulangerie and well stocked grocery stores. The interior of the island we barely explored, plenty to look forward to when we return.