We are so grateful that Kaj and Leila invited us for 10+ days sailing in the Caribbean sea.
It was a fantastic adventure together with great people on a fantastic boat.
Below we have tried to put together some pictures and text to show a bit what we experienced.
St Martin
We arrived to St Martin in the afternoon, and as soon as we had all of our bags we called Kaj and Leila. The timing was perfect - they just approached St Martin in order to make it to the bridge opening. We jumped into a taxi and headed for Simpson Bay Marina. After a while there was a traffic jam, and the driver told us that we had to stop for the bridge opening. We took the opportunity to welcome Amelit to St Martin.
Kaj had visited St Martin before, so the next day he acted tour guide and showed us the beautiful island.
St Barthelemy
After two nights in St Martin, we set sail for St Barthelemy (or Saint Barts as it is called). St Barts was a Swedish colony for almost 100 years (1784 to 1878). The capitol is still called Gustavia, and is named in honour of king Gustav III.
Walking around in Gustavia was kind of strange. Most of the street names were both in French and Swedish.
St Barts is a popular place for the rich and famous. If you need diamonds, gold, watches or jewellery you are in the right place.
After a full day wonderful day on the sea, we arrived to the small island of Barbuda late afternoon. We anchored in a beautiful bay.
When sailing between countries like we do, you need to register with the authorities when you arrive and when you leave. One of the "stations" is customs. The sign outside the custom office shows a bit what Barbuda is about.
Kaj had planned an adventure day for us, so early in the morning we were picked up by boat. We first went to a place with caves that had been used by native Arawak indians for living before Christopher Columbus changed the world.
The second stop was a Fregatt bird sanctuary which is suppose to be the biggest population in the world.
It was a fantastic experience to slowly move around in a boat close to all these amazing birds.
George, our guide, knew everything about these birds and his island.
After the trip to the sanctuary we found out that there was a carnival in town.
We got to see a bit of the fun before we went back to Amelit after a fantastic day.
Kaj put together a video from Barbuda and placed it on YouTube. You can find it here: Kaj´s Barbuda video
We left Barbuda early in the morning, and set sails for Antigua and Nonsuch Bay. At the entrance to the bay we got a reminder to be careful.
We got the opportunity to do some snorkelling at the coral reefs protecting the bay.
We anchored up, and then took the dingy to land where we found that there was a fishing competition going on.
Here is a Wahoo on the scale - approximately 20 kg
The fishing guys had amazing boats and equipment, and it was clear that this was serious business - but also a lot of fun.
As usual Kaj had made plans for us, and the evening was suppose to be on a hill top overlooking English Harbour. Although there was a road up the hill, and taxis available, Kaj insisted that we walk.
It was a rather long walk, but it was all worth it when we looked at the view and got our first beer to the sound of live steel- band.
We left Antigua early in the morning and aimed for Guadeloupe, where Kaj and Leila planned to dive Jacques Cousteau's Underwater Reserve. They had a really good dive, and as it still was early the captain decided that we continue to Dominica.
Shortly after we started sailing one of the fishing rods started screaming. Mats ran to the rod, and Kaj stopped the boat - this was a REAL fish! Not like the 4 kg barracuda we got before.
The only thing was that the shark was quicker than us!
When we arrived to Dominica we got help to get a bouy, and with the same guy we agreed to make a journey up Indian River the next day. The people we met in Dominica were very helpful and friendly.
It is a bit depressing to see all ship wrecks on the beaches. Hurricanes have put them there, and no-one seems to be interested to take them away. Owners and insurance companies do not seem to care too much for these poor people.
Our guide for Indian River picked us up as agreed at Amelit. Indian River got its name from the Carib indians that lived there.
The river headed straight into the jungle. Our guide was not allowed to use the engine, so it was very peaceful and very beautiful.
Again we started early for a full day sailing to our final destination - Martinique. With rather windy conditions we made good speed and arrived to Martinique before the port staff went home for the day. In Martinique Kaj had planned some maintenance and improvements on Amelit.
We had a fantastic time with Kaj and Leila. A lot of activities all the time, wonderful sailing and friendship. But everything comes to an end, and this was it for us. Kaj and Leila followed us to the airport, and picked up Kaj´s youngest son at the same time. Our long journey home had started, and 32 hours later we arrived to our home in Sweden.
Some more pictures: Caribbean Sailing
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