Nevis architecture

We were on our way to Nevis when we got hailed on the VHF by Tivoli. Turns out they had already checked out the island and found things to be too uncomfortable in the wind and roll so they were anchored in Cockelshell Bay off of Reggae Beach on the southern end of St Kitts. We dropped anchor and joined them as the only other boat in the harbor.
After admiring the baby turtles in the water (turns out they hatch on a beach across the pass on Nevis and winds/waves were bringing them over) and the mounds of tourists being cleared off the beach returning to their cruise ships, we headed ashore with Judy & Torben. Wouldn’t you know it the lights to the Reggae Bar turned off just as we beached the dinghy. We headed down the beach for what turned out to be a lovely dinner at the Spice Mill. On our way back to the boat I commented that we seemed to be further from Tivoli than I remembered, and wouldn’t you know it – we had dragged for the first time. It was probably about 150 feet and we were still in 10 feet of water with no one else around. But I spent an uncomfortable night making sure that we had hooked, checking my iPhone app and peering outside every once in a while.

Agave

The next morning we left for Oualie Beach in Nevis. We were lucky enough to tuck in far enough around the point to get out of the roll and drop anchor. We were a bit paranoid about anchoring in sea grass given the previous night so Trip dove the anchor. Luckily we had hooked nicely. We spent the afternoon ashore at the beach club having lunch and enjoying the laid back atmosphere.

We took a local bus into Charlestown and checked out the Hamilton Museum (he was born on Nevis). It’s really not much to see if you’ve read Ron Chernow’s book, but still nice to visit an important place from history. We tried multiple times to check in with customs about extending our stay but no one was around so we gave up and took another bus out to Gingerland, where all the former sugar mill plantations have been turned into restaurants and inns. On Judy’s recommendation we went to the Golden Rock Inn. We wandered around the magnificently sculpted grounds (complete with monkeys) and then went in for lunch on the terraced restaurant that had once been the long house. The owners are clearly artists and their touch was evident everywhere.

Lunch terrace at Golden Rock Inn

Nevis gardens

The next morning we left, or tried to. I should have known it was going to be an interesting sail when we buried the rail just five minutes into the sail under jib only. The run down the island was pleasant enough and then we hit the weather. Winds on our nose, steep seas, and of course squalls made for an umpleasant ride. Even motor sailing we were only able to make 1.5 knots – yes we could all walk faster to the next island. We gave up and headed back for Nevis.

It rained multiple times a day pretty much every day we were in Nevis. But the rainbows that came afterward (and they always did) were absolutely spectacular – something I will never forget!

 

Clear shot of Nevis peak

This time we picked up a mooring off Pinney Beach, the one place we hadn’t visited. We dinghied ashore for lousy service at the highly rated Sunshine Beach Bar so we wandered further down. Leave it to us – without knowing it we crashed a private party at the Four Seasons. I just thought they had a great steel drum band every night – who knew? We politely turned around and wound up at Turtle Time for apps & drinks. After noting a lovely Amel ketch anchored next to us with a Swedish flag (more on that later), we went back to Charlestown to re-clear in and extend our stay. After that we decided to give Sunshine another shot only to find that the Four Seasons private party had now taken over that bar! We gave up and went for a quiet pizza at Lime (great!) before rowing back to the boat.