We left Dominica on Sunday at 10:30am having finished up a few minor chores. David and Leanne on Perigee were planning to leave about the same time, but in the end had some hassles and didn’t get going until 3:00pm. We were actually sailing as a part of the Salty Dawg Spring Rally – though the bulk of the fleet was leaving from the British Virgin Islands and headed towards Virginia, however, 5 boats (including us) were planning to go to Bermuda.

Our plan was to head up the windward (east) side of Guadeloupe, but when we tried to sail across the top of Dominica, the wind was way too strong and in our face, so we took the easier route on the leeward side of the island. Now that we were out of the shadow of Dominica, the wind had come up to 25 knots – so we crossed to Guadeloupe with 2 reefs in the main and our small jib – still making over 8 knots of speed! The feared wind shadow of Guadeloupe didn’t materialize until half way up the island – and only lasted for a couple of hours, so motoring in calms was reduced to a minimum. With this success, we decided to make a B-Line for Bermuda – not divert to the windward side of any of the islands, so instead went between Monserrat and Antigua and cleared Barbuda within 24 hours of leaving Dominica. We were flying with an average speed in the first 24 hours of 7.0 knots!

The rest of the passage went really well – we had a predicted trof with no wind which lasted rather longer than we’d hoped for, but we managed to keep everything going for quite a while, using our code zero and our spinnaker (no, not at the same time!). The nights were very dark until the moon came up (not until past midnight) so for the most part, I took the night shift and Laurie took over once the moon had risen. (Got to be able to see those sea serpents coming!)

On the last day, the winds again dropped and it appeared that we would have little chance to get into Bermuda in the light, so we decided to sail – at about 3 knots! This slowed us to a morning arrival, but then the wind collapsed all together, leaving us either doing about 1 knot by sail, with sails slatting around all over the place, or taking down the sails and motoring with the engine hardly above idle – not good for the engine. So, in the end we decided to just go for it with the engine, and we ended up arriving in St. George’s at 10:40pm (11:40pm Bermuda time) on Saturday night and we actually cleared in at customs just after midnight.

The arrival into Bermuda was not simple – I had heard that it was easy, but it really wasn’t… Still, we managed to avoid all the unlit buoys and anchored boats and after clearing in, found ourselves a spot to anchor ourselves in the boondocks of the large bay. 6 and a half days – 1040 miles, average speed 6.67 knots. Not bad! Slept well! And now looking forward to discovering Bermuda properly. The last time we were here was 10 years ago – our first major passage aboard the Crealock… it’s good to be back – this time with much more time available. To make matters even more interesting, we’re here with a bunch of familiar boats – who arrived with the Salty Dawg rally. The 5 boats turned into 11 or 12 as several boats diverted away from the American coast due to bad weather in the gulf stream. It’s therefore shaping up to be an enjoyable stop!!

Unfortunately, we didn’t see a single green flash on the trip, though there were several beautiful sunsets. I have forgotten to mention in a previous post that when we sailed up from Grenada to Dominica, we watched a beautiful sunset which turned into a magnificent green flash – John Galpin should have been there to enjoy it!

We had a rollicking sail to Dominica from Grenada – averaging 7.5knots over 27hours! This included a couple of hours at less than 4 knots, trying to avoid a squall.

We arrived in Roseau, capital of Dominica and enjoyed exploring the town.

We decided a hike was in order, so bought passes to do one of the segments of the Waitukubuli National Trail – a trail that goes from the most southern point to the most northern… 14 “Segments” make up the trail – each between 5 and 12 miles long and rated easy through impossible.

We took a bus to the start of section 4 – a Moderate trail through the mountains, but when we got there, we realized we were totally unprepared – since it was bucketing down and being high up, it was cold! We ended up taking the bus back to Roseau, and then took another to the southernmost point, Scott Head and proceeded to do section 1. And it was still bucketing down!

Laurie pushed us on and we climbed and climbed through the vegetation and after about 90 minutes of agony, came across a sign indicating that basically the trail was closed (the foot bridge over the ravine was destroyed. Agony! A not said that we should only proceed if we were highly trained hikers (we’re not!) so we prepared to turn back. Then Laurie spotted the rope – an aide to getting vertical to above the ravine – so rather than turn back, we took the hard route. It was steep! Very steep! But we made it and the trail suddenly opened up to a grassy plateau, site of an old coffee plantation. We continued up the trail – to the second ascent – and found a handy Gazebo where we took shelter from a torrential downpour!

We managed to get to the end of the section – which fortunately ended at a bus stop – with a little bar! A couple of beers went down a treat!

The following day we sailed north to Portsmouth where we had moored back in February and Laurie planned our next hike. This time along section 13. We took a bus to the start and then arranged for a taxi to pick us up. Timing got a little strained, so we had to really hoof it to make the taxi – which showed up just as we did! Driver Martin (Providence) gave us a little tour on the way back to Toodle-oo! along with a really good botany lesson!

Tomorrow we’ll have a go at part of section 11 – and then prepare Toodle-oo! for the trip to Bermuda. We’ve decided to leave from here – most likely on Sunday – rather than motor to St. Martin. Our Australian friends David and Leanne aboard Perigee (Leanne is the nurse that tended Kate’s shin while in Martinique) will leave at the same time as us – this will be Leanne’s first overnight trip – so why not make it 6 or 7 in one!

 

 

Final kick in the pants from Dominica – Section 11 was brutal! Up and down very steep hills – requiring help of rope in several spots. Got back absolutely exhausted! Great hike!

Second kick in the pants arrived this morning at 3:00am with swells rocking us almost out of bed. Didn’t subside until late in the morning – so long walk with lack of sleep on top of it, just before we set off on a 7 – 8 day passage to Bermuda!!! Great!