Sailing the Leewards 2015

[nolagal]

Thought I’d post some observations made during the last few months, Nov, 2014 - March, 2015, while in the Leeward Islands. When I checked there was little on CF that was very current except for SXM. I apologise if there’s tons and I somehow missed it and I know, that this too, will eventually be dated.

The other reason for wanting to post is to offer a different take on the general air that the E Caribbean is so dangerous that you are taking life in hand to visit. This affected us so much as we were choosing to come here from Belize that we almost didn’t come. We’ve traveled along with several other boats who felt the same. Of course, I do know that you should take precautions but we take those at home, right?. Stay alert, lock up when you leave, avoid being in the wrong part of town after dark and secure your dinghy (we have a 5/16ths cable and a heavy duty ABUS padlock).

I’ll also report on WiFi as we found it. We have a Bullet Long Distance antennae and booster connected to a router so when available we can have WiFi throughout the boat. We also carry a Hauwei Mobile Hotspot and planned to get a data sim in each island. That didn’t work out too well as you’ll see below. There is always Wifi in restaurants and bars so I’m reporting on WiFi on your boat while at anchor or in a marina. I’ve included a little information on clearance and dinghy docks. We didn’t find getting rid of garbage or finding ATMs an issue so I’ll leave that out. Laundry, however, was an issue so I’ll include some of that.

We found the islands safe. Slept with our companion way hatch open and with no unusual arming of our bed or boat. Can’t say I went around and took a survey but seemed the other boats were not on high alert either. We did mostly leave our VHF on. So far the only “Boat Boys” we’ve encountered were last year back in Iles a Vache and the wonderful guys in Dominica.

Island by Island
St. Martin seemed fine but following what we read we lifted our dinghy each night. Most other boats did the same. If we went out to a happy hour or to dinner in Simpson Bay Lagoon we chained the dinghy even though we were right there. That’s what everyone did and we followed local custom. At night, if we went ashore for dinner in Marigot, we left the dingy at the Port Royale docks, approached from Simpson Bay Lagoon. During the day we used the dinghy docks that were near the market and the ferry dock. Didn’t have a problem and never heard of a problem while we were there. We did hear of a dinghy theft from the town dock after we left. It occurred at night to a locked dinghy. I don’t see a report of this on Noonsite but we did hear of it from another cruising couple who were there right after us. We neither saw nor heard of any problems in the lagoon or in Grand Case. Also nothing bad in St Bart’s or Anguilla.

Clearance – Upon arrival from North Sound of Virgin Gorda we anchored in Simpson Bay, dinged ashore and cleared into Sint Maarten, Customs is near the bridge with a dinghy dock. We paid to go through the bridge and anchored in front of Palapa Marina. In addition to WiFi info below. Palapa has free WiFi, it gives you about 15 min than you have to sign in again. You can go ashore and pay for full service. Back to clearance. After a week in the Lagoon we wanted clearer water so headed out the bridge and over to Marigot Bay. It was both windy (Christmas Winds were definitely blowing) and rolly but the holding was very good and we stayed put. We cleared into the French side at Fort Louis Marina. The Customs dock at the ferry was not operational. No one ever came to our boat and asked for anything and we were there about 6 weeks with short trips around the island and over to St Bart’s and Anguilla.

Laundry – The absolute best is at Shrimpy’s. He runs the morning net Channel 10 at 7:30am. Catch him right after you listen to Chris Parker at 7am and before Coconut Telegraph at 8am.

Wifi – They have a system you can buy into with a box on your boat for WiFi. I think its from Scarlett. We didn’t do this as I thought our unlocked Huawei mobile hotspot would be all we needed. HA! The idea of a data sim, though available, seemed not to be understood too well so I had to set it up on the mobile hotspot without help. I first bought a Digicel sim in Marigot but they spoke no English and I speak so little French that the whole experience proved a frustration to both of us. I did get the Digicel sim to work but it only worked in town and on the French side of the island though not in Grand Case and rarely on the boat in Marigot Harbor. We then bought a Chippie. Chippie was definitely better and gets our vote here. But again no one will help you set it up and some configuring of the Huawei is required. The “Mailbox" in Simpson Bay Lagoon offers an instruction sheet for the Chippie sims but no verbal assistance. After days of frustrating deciphering, I was finally able to use that information to get the Chippie sim to work and it did work on the boat and pretty much throughout the island though again not in Grand Case. Luckily, in Grand Case the restaurants will give you their password so you can use it on your boat if you have a Long Distance antennae. I think phone sims work as advertised. Here I’m talking about the data sim NOT the phone sim.

In Marigot Bay sometimes there was an open WiFi AP from a condo. This was great when available so we anchored close to the condos. Marinas also offer WiFi to their customers. Even though the Chippie is supposed to work in both St Bart’s and Anguilla we never could get a connection. Between the two sims we spent a little over $110 for data sims for the 6 weeks we were there. Had we just bought the Chippie it would only have been $60 which I felt was reasonable for the amount of data and degree of service available but alas I had invested in Digicel first.

Our next two islands were St. Kitts and Nevis. We arrived St. Kitts in time for their Carnival and stayed in the Port Zante Marina for over a week as the winds were howling and it was fun to be there. Certainly no safety issues here though we were out in the streets at all hours of the day and night. Nevis was wonderful except for the lack of dinghy docks. We took a mooring at Pinney Beach for about 10 days. Used the town docks and locked our dinghy as that’s what everyone else was doing. In both St Kitts and Nevis we used taxis and local buses to get around and see the sights. From here on we didn’t lift the dinghy every night.

Clearance into St Kitts and Nevis is done all in one. We were in Port Zante marina so did it there. You go to Customs in the yellow marina building than over to Immigration in the cruise terminal. It took a lot to figure out that we had cleared in for a month, we where told variously that it was 1 week, 2 weeks, no one seemed to know. But we eventually got it figured out.. We got the clearance to anchor in the Southern Peninsular with no problem.
In Nevis we checked in with Customs and Immigration to let them know we were there and paid for our mooring. We also cleared out from there. The office is right near the town dock.

Laundry – We only found laundry at the marina. The helpful guy, Ras, mentioned in Doyle’s Guide offered to have his mother do it. This was by far the most expensive we’ve ever encountered at $80US for 2 large loads. Plus our clothes had other cruisers clothes mixed with them when they were returned. Luckily we’d all become friends and we were able to return them. We didn’t do laundry in Nevis.

WiFi – there was no WiFi at the Port Zante Marina though it’s advertised and you can see the AP when looking. It wasn’t working. I bought a Digicel Data Sim which worked well in town, except it was Carnival so probably too many users for it to be very fast. It didn’t work at all in the marina. Orange seemed to be offering a free hotspot during Carnival as I was able to connect to that from the boat until Carnival ended. So here we spent $70 for a sim that didn’t work and swore off trying to get data sim in each island. We ended up adding an International Plan on our regular phone service with 300 mb of data/ month, .50/min calls and free texting. Decided to only get onboat WiFi only when available for free or nearly so. In Nevis at Pinney Beach the Four Seasons Hotel had a open AP which we could pickup most days. It worked pretty well. The lack of a good dinghy dock for the three wonderful beach bars at Pinney’s Beach is a boor and the town dock had a bad surge while we were there so our only complaint about Nevis was the dinghy dock issue. Everything else we really loved.


Next stop, Montserrat for a weekend stop. Again no safety issues, there where about 15 boats at anchor. We were told it was the most boats in the harbour at one time.
We had a SE wind which is good there as anything N of E gives a rolly night’s sleep. Great free WiFi in the harbour. If you have the option don’t go on a weekend as everything closes down. We were able to do an island tour but no museum and no observatory as they were closed Sat & Sun.

Clearance was no problem but don’t be late. They charge a steep fee for overtime, we found out later they also use SailClear.

On to Antigua – and a two week stay in Falmouth. Can’t imagine anyone would be interested in anything off of a 1992 42ft Hunter Passage when there where sooooo many fabulous sailing ships around. But we felt safe and regularly left our dinghy at the dock. Following custom there, we locked her up every time but it seemed unnecessary. We spent a few days over by Bird Island but we never left the boat and we felt and were safe at anchorage. There were lots of boats coming and going from these free moorings.

Clearance is in English Harbor in Nelson’s dockyard. They use SailClear.

Laundry – Great laundry right behind the dinghy dock/restaurant/grocery that’s near the Antigua YC.

WiFi – Falmouth was the first place we ran in to HotHotHotSpot. They offer harbor WiFi for a reasonable fee. $10/24 hrs, $50/week, $200/5 months and its available in various places down to the Grenadines. We bought a day to see how it was and liked it fine but as we were still reeling from the unused $70 in St Kitts we mostly just used WiFi ashore. It was sloooooow everywhere. Everyone complained so we mostly did without.

Deshaies was next, then Pigeon, Basse Terre, Point a Pitre and the Saintes. All in Guadeloupe. Again no safety issues but we followed local custom and locked our dinghy. We read on Noonsite and also heard about some thievery on boats at the marina in Pointe a Pitre. They have docks with tall locked gates that need a key to get through. But there is no other security. Seems its easy to go over or around the gate if you’re limber enough, not to mention pulling up to a boat from the water. We anchored outside of the marina and where told by local friends that it was perfectly safe there. There was a boat that went adrift with the owners ashore and it banged into two other boats but that’s a different kind of problem.

Clearance - The French are very laid back about clearing in. In Deshaies you clear in by computer in a souvenir shop. In the Saintes we cleared out, by computer, in a Internet Cafe/Laundry.

Laundry – We did laundry in Basse Terre, there’s a laundromat near the marina and again in the Saintes, where you clear in/out. Both had issues but we did end up with clean clothes.

WiFi – Again I bought a 24 hrs of WiFi in Deshaies from HotHotHot Spot and it was pretty good but we mostly used what we found ashore. This little town is so delightful that we were frequently ashore. We were in Pigeon and Basse Terre briefly so again we did without or used our International Data plan from AT&T. In Pointe a Pitre the marina offered free WiFi which we could get on the boat at anchor. Friends who had been in the marina two weeks prior to our arrival had found the WiFi so good that they could stream a movie! When we all gathered back there to celebrate Carnival and New Orleans’ Mardi Gras we could only get email. :-( Nothing else would come in either in the marina or out at anchor.
Once in the Saintes we found HotHotHot Spot and as it was offered there and in both the anchorages we planned to visit in Dominica we bought a month for $50. We find that HotSpot works good when it’s been cycled on but if it goes out the place where it’s installed isn’t necessarily paying attention and it can be a day before it’s cycled back on. Sometimes we can see it from the Bullet and it looks fine but we can’t connect. Still it eventually comes back on.


We are now in Dominica, which together with St Lucia, gets a bad rap. We’ve been here nearly a month and absolutely love it!. We spent 2 weeks+ in Portsmouth and 1week+ in Roseau. This is one of the most delightful places we’ve been and we loved most of the places we’ve been so that’s saying a lot. The PAYS boat boys are incredible and the guys in Roseau are good, though not as organised, also. We were told we’d be spoiled while here and believe me we have been. In Portsmouth we used, Titus, with Lawrence of Arabia, and he took care of getting us moored, getting us to the water buoy, arranged tours, gave advice on hikes, arranged to get our bottom cleaned and on and on. But not only Titus, all of the PAYS boats that whiz around look over, wave and ask if all is well. WE DON’T EVEN LOCK OUT DINGHY HERE! In Point a Pitre we met a man traveling with his wife and two small sons who felt threatened here. I’m saying this because even though I can’t understand that feeling, it was real to him. From what he said they had not contracted with PAYS but that doesn’t seem to be a prerequisite as a boat we’ve traveled with on and off also hasn't and seems to be just find. The Sunday night PAYS BBQ funds security in the harbor for everyone. I’ve seen PAYS rescue boats who drifted while at anchor or go out at night to help late arrivals. Portsmouth appears a poor town but looking around it seems industrious and we find the locals ashore very friendly and happy you are visiting their island.
*Don’t miss the Saturday market – all your fruits and veggies have been coming from Dominica anyway so go and have a look at this incredible selection.
We’re now in Roseau and using Seacat’s moorings. Desmond is our guy and like Titus he has arranged for water, laundry and tours plus given us advice and directions.

Clearance in Portmouth is over by the Customs dock to the right of town. an easy dinghy ride with a concrete dock to tie to. Clear in anytime but you’ll pay a fee if it’s after hours. Even though we were told we needed a Coastal Cruising Permit when we left Portsmouth, on arrival in Roseau, Customs told us not to bother until we were clearing out. If you are only staying 2 weeks you can clear in and out at the same time from either anchorage.

Laundry – there are several houses that offer laundry service in Portsmouth or you can give it to one of PAYS guys. In Roseau, Desmond picked up and delivered our laundry.

Wifi – We have bought into the HotHotHotSpot. See above for the way it acts. It was very good in both Portsmouth and Roseau except for one 2 day period in Porstmouth, I think heavy rain must have caused some problem. We don’t get too excited as WiFi while at anchor in the Caribbean is pretty exciting even if it isn’t perfect.



A little more in-depth reporting can be found on our blog.
S/V WAHOO

[barboak]

Hey thanks Wahoo for a great report especially your experiences with wifi and sim cards. After years in the western and southwestern caribbean we have been sailing from Puerto Rico and then heading down island in the EC for the past three. As we have family and things that we need to stay in contact with over the winter, like most boats out here, we are often looking for the best way to get online. Of course it is an expense that we never figured on when we left the states in 2003 but well worth it to us. I don't know if my wife would still be so happy being away for so long without regular photos of grandchildren on Facebook etc.! And of course our rental properties up in frozen NE have needed our attention way too often this season and we have been able to take care of the many issues that arose.
We are sitting on the northeast side of Antigua right now behind the reefs and have both excellent wifi from the resort nearby and pretty good 3g from Digicell right now, much better than in Falmouth/English harbor.

[nolagal]

Hi Barboak,
So where exactly is that good WiFi on the NE coast of Antigua. Its good info for those who follow. I'm hoping others will jump in with similar reports.
Like you we want to keep up with rentals, friends and family back home. The cruising like is wonderful but so is our lives ashore.

[barboak]

Originally Posted by nolagal

Hi Barboak,
So where exactly is that good WiFi on the NE coast of Antigua. Its good info for those who follow. I'm hoping others will jump in with similar reports.
Like you we want to keep up with rentals, friends and family back home. The cruising like is wonderful but so is our lives ashore.

We sailed down Boon Channel and are anchored off Jumby bay and the resort's wifi is wicked fast! Moving around to Great Bird island today and will see how it goes and our digicell sim is working half decent here. Last year while in St. Maarten we hooked up with Axxess marine there and tried out a seamless sim-card system they offered but never quite worked out as promised and they don't seem to offer it now and seem to concentrate on the mega yachts and their needs. We did at the time install a sim-card router with an external antenna for it that increased the range for our Digicell sim and can pick it up further than in a mifi or cell phone.
Besides our chart plotters I am playing around with my iPad with Garmin blu-charts installed ($45) for the whole of North America and it works wonderfully with the added bonus of Active Captain data downloaded on it and many of the reports now state whether wifi or Digicell 3g is available in the anchorages. Handy stuff to know.
When we left in 2003 and starting in Mexico and heading down the western carib I remember walking a few miles and then sitting in an internet cafe for hours waiting for my email to slowly download. Being hams we also used Airmail with our Pactor modem to stay in touch but the modern technology works much better for us and only use it if we can't get weather from wifi or SSB
As for security we try and have the same precautions as habits and carry 3/8th SS chain to lock the dinghy and outboard and pull it on the davits each night no matter how safe we feel. Of course we have always traveled with a small west highland terrier Annie who barks at every dinghy etc. going by and she is a great little watch dog!