St Kitts is more formally known as Saint Christopher Island, and is the larger sister island to Nevis. It is known for having great beaches and is a fairly popular cruise port destination. We enjoyed the beaches, a decent spot for snorkeling, and a night out along the fun Frigate Bay Strip. This was also the first location where we were boarded by the local Coast Guard.
That’s a (partial) black sand beach
We leave our morning ball at Nevis for the easy journey up the coast to St Kitts. It’s a pretty uneventful trip – which is the sailing world is normally a good thing! We arrive at our intended anchorage of Friar’s Bay and notice there are no other boats around. On one hand, this is great – we love being the only boat in the bay. On the other hand, this often means everyone else knows something we don’t. We decide to risk it. After a couple circles checking depths, we find a sandy spot to drop our hook.
We head to shore to walk the large beach laid out in front of us. From a distance it isn’t quite as inviting as we’re use to – it looks almost dirty. Once we’re actually on the beach, we realize this is a black sand beach – it is volcanic around here after all. It isn’t completely black like you may have seen before, but there is lots of fine black sand mixed in with the lighter sand color we’re more accustomed to seeing.
Boarded by the Coast Guard
Our lonely bay is a little rolly, but what anchorage isn’t around these parts? We make it through the night without having to sleep up on the couch, so good enough. Around mid-morning, we see a small sailboat coming in to join us, followed by what looks like an “authority-type” boat. Said boat is indeed the St Kitts Coast Guard, and we see that they are tying alongside the sailboat, preparing to board. We anxiously watch the events unfold, preparing ourselves that we are likely next. I’m getting pretty nervous, but I remind myself we haven’t actually done anything wrong. Monster’s Nevis check-in (or lack thereof) is a – well, grey area. Maybe they will just leave after finishing with this other boat.
No such luck. They motor over and ask to tie-up to the starboard side of Sea Monster. All agents onboard are very friendly, making the visit a bit less intimidating. They tell us they are boarding us to check our safety equipment. Relief! We will definitely pass that check with flying colors.
Tangent: The US Coast Guard Auxiliary will preform safety checks of your vessel for free (within the US), and provide either sign-off on your compliance or recommendations for corrective action. No fines or issues will come if you fail; you simply get the chance to correct any issues and request a re-check. It’s an amazing service, and a great way to ensure your boat is up to USCG standards. They are looking for things like adequate fire extinguishers, carbon monoxide detectors, life saving flotation devices, bilge pumps, etc. It was a significantly more thorough check than completed by the St Kitts Coast Guard. We completed this US safety check in January 2019 while in Brunswick, GA. Since we were successful, we received a sticker to place on the outside of our boat which indicates to others (particularly, the US Coast Guard if they were to board us) that our boat is in compliance. We should complete this every year (and get a new sticker), but the boat left the US before the end of 2019, so we will probably wait until we are back this summer/fall to do our 2020 check.
We’re largely finished when they ask for the dog’s paperwork. We smile and pull out her giant folder of all paperwork – multiple health certificates, all vet records, other country requirements, Titer test, etc. It’s a pretty intimidating thickness. One of the agents tries to describe what they are looking for (likely something from the local vet if we would have completed the full procedure at Nevis). We just politely play dumb. The coast guard ends up taking some photos of her most important paperwork and says they can complete the necessary info from their end later. That’s it! We send them off with thank yous and cans of pop. Glad that is over!
Snorkeling attempt
After checking out a few dive site maps and reading online reviews, we conclude that there are a few shallow snorkeling (not really dive) sites nearby to our anchorage. Of course, we check them out. We set out in the dinghy on a much windier and wetter ride than expected. After a while we spot two red moorings off in the distance. That must mark the dive site. It doesn’t. Sticking my face in the water every so often displays nothing but sand and grass on the bottom. At one point, I spot a very large yellow starfish – so that’s exciting at least.
We eventually turn around and decide to motor close along the rocky shore – at least there’s likely to be some fish and maybe coral among the rocks. Our persistence pays off when we find a small area of coral heads in shallow water. It’s not the “reef” we were in search of, but still quite nice. We anchor the dinghy in nearby sand and explore for a bit.
Night out at Frigate Bay
We only have one more night at St Kitts, and for being such a large (or at least long) island we feel like we haven’t seen much of it. To be fair, there are just not that many anchorages. I try to find a car rental, but there are none available. We decide to motor up to the main town/port of Basseterre. You can anchor there, but it’s known to be laughably rolly and uncomfortable. We figure it’s worth a try, though. If it’s too bad, we can always come back to this spot at Friar’s Bay.
Upon arrival at Basseterre, it is indeed as rolly as they say. Obviously, not going to work for us. It’s also very industrial except for the cruise ship port. We decide to circle back the way we came. If nothing else, it was a nice little trip during sunset. Prior to landing back at Friar’s Bay, we pass by the neighboring Frigate Bay. There are a handful of boats anchored here. Maybe they know something we don’t? We decide to drop the hook and spend the night here instead. There is a strip of restaurants along the beach, which feels like a great way to not have to cook tonight – and experience a bit more of what St Kitts has to offer.
We clean up, grab Monster, and head over to the dinghy dock to tie up. Initially, we are very impressed with the fun, laid-back atmosphere of the whole area. There are several restaurants that look good and inviting. We eventually pick an Asian fusion restaurant that has a fun assortment of appetizers. Further review of the menu also shows they have pizza! We order a very eclectic mix of food and a couple beers for the table.
Checking out at Basseterre
In the morning, we head back to Basseterre to check out of St Kitts and Nevis (i.e. visit customs and immigration). Surprise – it’s still rolly! Luckily, we won’t stay very long. We find a place closer to shore to drop our anchor and launch the dinghy for Matt to head ashore. Of course it starts raining as soon as the dinghy is in the water. We’re in a bit of time crunch today, though – rain won’t kill him.
Once ashore a kind local points Matt towards where to go, but informs him that the customs agent is finishing up with the cruise ship, so he will have to wait. Only 15 minutes later, the agent returns. Honestly, that could have been a really, really long wait – thank goodness it wasn’t. A quick trip between customs and immigration, plus a few more procedures and we’re free to leave!
While in the immigration office, there is another individual there acting as an agent/representative for a large yacht seeking to clear in to St Kitts and Nevis. The representative involves Matt in the conversation about how the yacht has Chinese nationals on-board and they were just denied entry to Antigua. This is our first exposure to entry denials related to the Coronavirus. We of course know that it is a pretty big deal in China right now and starting to spread to Europe, but it’s strange to hear these people (who haven’t even been to mainland China in over 6 months) are being turned away from Caribbean islands. After a bit of back and forth, the yacht does get to clear in to St Kitts. Note that there is no official border closing or restrictions at all at this point in time – Antigua simply turned them away because they have to right to turn anyone away at any time. Crazy. (If we only knew what was to come)
Matt does an express tour of the cruise ship pier area, and snaps a few photos. It’s funny how different things look from the back side compared to the front “tourist” side. Matt equates it to being behind the scenes of a movie set.
Rough day at sea
After hauling anchor at Basseterre I set us on course towards Saint Estatius (a dutch island to the north). It’s a pretty nice day and the island of St Kitts is blocking the easterly wind and waves for the first part of our journey. Unfortunately, by taking us close in to land, I also take us through the most crowded area of crab pots and fishing nets we’ve ever seen. Matt is on a phone call, so I’m weaving and dodging all the buoys on my own. If we were to catch a buoy line or net in one of our props it could be very, very bad.
After a couple miles, the buoys have thinned out and I’m able to enjoy the St Kitts shoreline. My eyes are particularly searching for the Brimstone Hill Fortress. It is a historical British military fortress and a UNESCO World Heritage site. Quite expansive in size, it is considered one of the best preserved historical fortifications in the Americas. It is a popular tourist destination for not only its historical significance, but it’s sweeping views of St Kitts and neighboring islands. Unfortunately, since we were unable to rent a car, we didn’t’ get the opportunity to visit, but we can at least snap a couple photos as we sail by.
After we pass the norther tip of St Kitts that’s when the “fun” really begins. We were expecting some *larger* waves, but nothing like what is pounding into and over our beam right now. These things are HUGE. When a wave rises up next to us, it’s tall enough to block the horizon even from the raised position of the helm seat. Things are flying around here. The dog is terrified. Matt is trying to do work phone calls. I’m gripping the helm tightly trying not to panic. Cell service starts to go weak and Matt asks about turning around. At this point, I’m actually scared to turn around. The circle we’d need to do would put just a couple seconds of us fighting into these massive waves – plus some small wind chop would then be on our nose. It would be much rougher than it is even now. We agree to keep going.
A cargo ship is on our tail, soon passing by and then right in front of us. This is fine – they don’t put out much wake. Definitely not enough wake to fight against these angry waves. As soon as they pass by, though, our depth alarm goes off. Any piercing alarm going off when you’re already on high alert in these conditions is very stressful. This time is worse because – it won’t stop. There is something 3 feet below our hull (meaning about 6 inches before our keel would hit). We are supposed to be in hundreds of feet of water. Initially I’m scared that a rope or piece of something is dragging behind the cargo ship – or something feel off the cargo ship. A rope could get tangled in our prop. A cargo container (or piece of one) could damage our hull. Either way – not good. I keep pressing the “pause” button on the alarm, but it only stops for a few seconds before starting again. Just kill me now.
I soon decide that it must have been an animal – large fish or dolphin most likely that passed under our hull. Said animal might have even been swimming along with the cargo ship. We’ve had similar experiences with dolphins before. Okay, so that’s a relief. However, whatever swam under our hull is no longer under our hull but neither is the ocean floor – at least not at a depth shallow enough for our depth sounder to read. It only reads up to 500 feet in depth. Since it cannot get a new reading, it just remains on the last depth charted. In normal conditions, this would be a pretty deep depth – maybe near 500 feet before it drops off too deep to read. In this case, it’s 3 feet which means our depth alarm JUST KEEPS GOING OFF. I try to reset all instruments. I try to turn off the depth alarm. Nothing works. I just keep pressing “pause” every few seconds as it goes off. The piercing beep really adds to the amazing ambiance of this lovely passage.
After a couple miles, I see some shallower depths ahead on the chart plotter. I veer us slightly off course, in hopes of passing over water <500 feet deep so our depth sounder can get a new reading. Thank everything good – it works.
As we approach Saint Estatius, the waves lessen a bit. We are able to regroup and make our approach into the one and only anchorage for the island. It is known to be a very rolly anchorage, so we are preparing ourselves. Luckily, anything will feel great after that trip over. I idle around the anchorage, checking depths, bottom composition, and how the swell rolls in for about half an hour while Matt finishes another phone call. Once he’s done, we drop the hook in our preferred spot and take a break. We’re here – in one piece.
