S/V WAHOO: Communications and Fuel

Hanging out in a marina for 11 days is NOT our usual style. But when Chris Parker, our weather Guru, used such daunting words as "a whole pile of wind" and "really really strong winds" to describe conditions this past week it seemed only right to follow other "prudent mariners" and stay put. Even staid NOAA described conditions as "the most significant weather of the season". Luckily we were in St Kitts.

Not quite the Bearded Oysters

As soon as we arrived in Basseterre, the capital of St. Kitts, we knew immediately that we were in the real Caribbean.

Nothing was as advertised; the marina website didn't work, phones were down, we're 3 boats sharing one electric meter, drums were loud and there were plenty of smiling, helpful people giving us confusing and contradictory advice.

Sugar Maz - we be liming (hanging out)

Need fuel? The only way to get it is to contract with a guy and his 55gal drums. He comes around in a pickup. You go with him to the service station and buy what you think you need (no one says they are selling Imperial Gallons). You and the guy come back and he pumps them into your boat. Hope you didn't buy too much cause there sure ain't any returning anything.

We sailed the 42 miles from St Maarten Saturday, Dec 27th in moderate (18-20kt) trades and 4 - 5 ft seas on one tack. Once we got behind the island and seas settled I went down to make lunch when suddenly things went haywire. Wahoo heels suddenly, Roy's calling me topside - the wind is gusting to 35kts and he's trying to reduce sail! Wow, the guide was right as you come opposite Brimstone Hills the wind does go crazy. Soon all is in order and we get to have lunch while sailing along and admiring the verdant mountains and colourful towns of St. Kitts.

Before long we're "checking" in with the Marina office (no time for paperwork - it's Sugar Maz), we discovered that their much advertised WiFi had been down for months. Disappointing, but times like this are why we have a Mobile Hotspot aboard. I get my phone off Airplane Mode to see what carriers I pick up, thinking these would be the strongest and lead me to get the best and strongest simm for the hotspot. Ahhh, Digicel appears. This is a carrier I recognise and used in the BVIs. Trying to cover all bases I send a Viber text to John Edward to see whether Digicel was blocking VoIP (talking over the internet) like they did in St. Martin. Great, text goes through; all's good. Now we just need to find that Digicel store.

Monkeying Around

Like I said it's Sugar Maz. Think of a rowdy low key kind of carnival with loud, loud music coming from two story trucks with concert sound systems!! People are so enamoured of marching behind their favourite trucks that they wander from the back of the parade up to the front for a constant round of dancing and partying. They stop off at a favourite bar or go get some BBQ and then rejoin the dancing costumed troupes. This goes on all of December. The big days are Dec 28th until Jan 4th which they call "Cool Down Day". So it took us awhile to get through the crowd and find the store; but, of course, it's closed. After all its Sugar Maz! We shoulda known betta, right.

Gibraltar of the Caribbean - Brimstone Fortress

Our best bet was to use the WiFi at restaurants to pick up email and make some phone calls. Just like at Mardi Gras getting a table was tough and getting online was slow. But there was plenty to do including going to the finals of the Calypso Band competition. By Tuesday I go to the store and wait in line until, eventually, it's my turn. I know I need a simm with pre-paid data. You need a new one in each island country as they each have their own service setup - imagine needing a new AT&T simm for your phone when you travel between New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. But hey, the young lady is so helpful. She tells me there's 3G and even 4G connections on the island, and it's good in Nevis too. I'm even shown the coverage area, dammed impressive. To be sure it's good-to- go I ask her to watch while I get an online connection with the simm in the hotspot and me using my phone. $75 later I'm on my way because Hooray it Worked!! ............................................................................................................................................

.......until I get over to the marina and on the boat. Not only does connection speed drop to 2G, when it connects at all, but it seems the Digicel Data Simm does block Viber and all VoIP. Not with the phone simm just with the data simm - Grrrrrr. Now I know installing a VPN will take care of this but I need a connection to install ANYTHING. Totally frustrated I play Candy Crush on my phone :-((.
Lo and behold, some mistaken finger tapping brings me to the connection with our Bullet Antenna. This is the long distance WiFi device at the top of the mast that brings in WiFi if we can connect to an open Access Point ashore. This is what I had expected to do with the marina's WiFi. I see a strong open signal from Lime, the other island carrier. I connect and immediately we have WiFi aboard.

Seems Lime is sponsoring Sugar Maz and for the duration of the carnival they're offering WiFi FOR FREE!!!

See that Anglican Church tower above -
See those stone spiral steps leading up into the tower.
While poking around we got locked in there!

St Kitts is fun and historic. It was the first British settlement in the Caribbean, dating from 1623. The French also established a colony here in 1625. A plantation economy was established and as long as both French and English battled the Spanish and the Carib Indians they managed to get along. Together they nearly wiped out the native population in 1626. After the Spaniards were taken care of war broke out between France and England in 1666 and spilled over into the West Indies. The Brits, being Brits didn't like sharing the island and built the biggest fort in the Caribbean, Brimstone Fortress, driving out the French in 1713. St Kitts continued under British rule until 1983 when the federation of St Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla was formed. Anguilla sued to be released, wanting to return to British oversight and so the Federation today is St. Kitts - Nevis, two islands - one country.

Interestingly though the battle at Bloody Point massacred most of the Caribs a few families survived and eventually prospered. We visited a plantation that has been in a Carib family for over seven generations. Today the only significant Carib populations live on St Vincent and Dominica.

Clay Villa - Carib owned plantation

The slave population increased dramatically as sugar cane replaced coffee and cotton on plantations. It rose from about 1,400 slaves verses 1,650 whites in 1678 to 23,500 slaves and 1,900 whites in 1775. England passed the Slave Act in 1807 abolishing trading in slaves but not until 1833 and the Abolition Act was slavery itself abolished. Antigua was the first island to abolish slavery in the Caribbean doing so in 1833 all other islands, including St. Kitts, followed by August 1838. Sugar remained the main economic force on the island until 2005 when all sugar production ceased and the government began to develop a tourist based economy.

The Jefferson home on St Kitts

Taking local buses around the island we've done lots of sightseeing including seeing the home of Thomas Jefferson's great, great, great, great grandfather who was from St Kitts. Besides the connection to Thomas Jefferson we found several things to remind us of home(s). The National bird of St Kitts-Nevis is the Pelican and a Chief Justice from St Kitts had a son who was Chief Justice in Belize.

We are hoping to move on to Nevis before the next round of high winds.