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Iguanas, Nudists and scary Caves Unfortunately, we didn't have enough time in the Bahamas, so we just barely scratched the surface of these beautiful cays and islands. We decided to concentrate on the Great Exuma Chain, which is known for its pure, shallow waters and lovely islets. Leaf Cay was by far the prettiest one, and also most interesting. Here is one of the remaining habitats of iguanas in the Bahamas. We encountered 29 of widely varying sizes on the beach. They were all very curious, approaching us with their long, heavy tails making long tracks in the white sand. Motionless, they watched us silently with their heads tilted. We were amazed at how they resemble prehistoric creatures - miniature dinosaurs. In Central America, iguanas are a delicacy and taste much like chicken. These were plump and well fed, but no hunting allowed - we were not tempted.. At Allan's Cay, we watched the crew of a German sailboat play nudists on the beach, much to the indignation of the Gringos, who are curiously "proper" in their beach attire. How did Hollywood happen in such a nation of "prudes"? At Samson Cay, we anchored near Thunderball Rock and explored the caves made famous from the filming of the James Bonds movie "Thunderball" and also "Splash". Sven cut open the top of his head snorkeling in the cave, but survived nevertheless after Anne's careful doctoring. Anne got a bad eye infection, and with both of them wearing colourful headscarf patches around head and eye respectively, I felt like I was in company of pirates! Speaking of pirates - this area, of course, was a pirate hangout during the golden years of piracy from 1790-1820. At that time, the entire Bahamian archipelago became literally a "Pirate Republic". Florida Straits, the Bahamas Channel and the Windward Passage had developed into regular sea-lanes. The archipelago with its hundreds of harbours and creeks offered secure havens where they could repair their ships, wait out stormy weather or elude their would-be captors - an ideal place for pirates like Blackbeard, Rackham, Hornigold or Ed England to attack cargo and treasure ships. At the peak of the piracy era, there were at least 20 pirate captains and 1400 pirates operating out of Nassau. Fortunately, we have no stories to recount from our stay there. However, cruisers were cautioned to stay clear of some of the islands because of active drug trading. We had no desire to check out the validity of this warning.
The last stop in the Bahamas was George Town, a sleepy, beautiful little place with a population of only 800, and a favorite anchorage of sailboats from all over the world. Just before reaching George Town, we crossed the "Tropic of Cancer", an event duly celebrated with Gammel Dansk. We only stayed a couple of days in George Town to provision and have the local doctor check our two casualties before heading for Turks and Caicos Islands, about 250 miles to the east southeast. On this stretch we had a little bit of everything. To begin with, hardly any wind, and we motored and motor-sailed for a day and a half. Then, the wind started to pick up from the north, and we finished the last 80 miles or so with a bang. Winds reached gale force strength and we flew along at 8 knots with only a furled genoa. This put us into Providenciales Island in the Caicos on February 19, a day before the arrival of Nicole and Shayne. As usual, having both Nicole and Shayne arrive was like having Christmas all over again. In addition to bringing our new 120-lb. liferaft from Miami, they came loaded with all sorts of goodies, bells and whistles. Just to mention a few: 6 lbs. of goat cheese, Canadian flags and pins, 17 T-shirts, 5 bikinis (small ones too), and lots of other food stuffs and liquids, some of which was polished off during the unpacking of all the loot. It was an eventful evening onboard 'NOR SIGLAR, not to mention the finale, which for Anne and I was totally unexpected. Shayne and Nicole treated us to a luxury stay at the Turtle Cove Inn, right on the beach, where we, for the first time in ages could enjoy a huge bed, bubblebath and unlimited fresh water showers, breakfast in bed and much, much more! We sure have wonderful friends. Having Sven, Shayne and Nicole onboard at the same time was one continuous party for 3 days, before Sven signed off and the rest of us hoisted anchor for either St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, the Dominican Republic or Puerto Rico - all depending on the wind speed and direction. We had hoped for either a south or north to north east wind. Instead, we got it from the east, right on the nose, and decided to head south for the Dominican Republic. As we hadn't really planned a landfall there, we didn't have the courtesy flag onboard. Nicole rose to the occasion, got the sewing machine out, and made one promptly. She was also instrumental in preparing all the meals during this 3-day voyage, and we were amazed at the delicacies she produced under quite extreme conditions. The sailing was actually fantastic most of the way, but we had to cover 350 miles through the water to make 250 over the ground. Boarded by the U. S. Coast Guard One morning, not too far off the Haiti coast, we were boarded by the U. S. Coast Guard MV "DAUNTLESS". Since we were in international waters and we are a Canadian vessel, they politely requested permission to board. They performed a routine check, but were obviously looking for drug smugglers or Haitian refugees. They did a light search onboard, and quickly confirmed that we were not smuggler types. We asked how they knew that so soon. They told us that they get a feeling for the people the minute they board the vessel, and can see by the "stuff" carried onboard. Cruisers have all sorts of equipment, TV, books, tapes and electronic gadgets. True smugglers have very bare vessels. Still, they never know until they are onboard. Therefore, they had four armed officers standing by in their Zodiac inflatable, while 4 of them (also armed) came onboard. They were quite professional about the whole affair, and after they had determined that we were innocent as can be, they queried us on our safety gear. We had not had time to test our brand new EPIRB in Fort Lauderdale so they did it for all and us was in order. We saw several Coast Guard vessels in the area, and remembered that the U. S. had stepped up their patrol along the 12 mile limit of Haiti so that they may turn the refugees back before they get too far on their hazardous voyage to Florida. Those who managed to reach Miami in the past were put into "holding tanks", interviewed and sent back, contrary to Cubans, who are welcomed with open arms. Now, instead of having the Haitians attempt the long voyage in overcrowded ships under terrible conditions that many don't survive, the Coast Guard try to stop them early. Before Christmas, a 50-foot sailboat with 350 refugees onboard sank off the north East Coast of Haiti. We were quite anxious that we should run into boats from Haiti. At sea, you are obliged to help vessels in distress, and we didn't much treasure the prospects of getting caught in such a situation. We were lucky. Nothing happened. After 3 days of mostly good sailing, we got into Bahia de Samana in the Dominican Republic on February 26. We were waved into the town dock "Med mooring" style, which is stern anchor with bow up to the concrete dock. The dock was an absolute mad house with people shouting and milling about. We had barely got a line on the dock when not less than 6 so-called officials clambered aboard; Immigration, Customs, Security, Interpreter and two from the Navy. After checking us in, the interpreter, whose good name was Martin, asked for a bribe for all of them. We gave them $2 each and Martin $10 to help us get water, fuel and beer. Another guy got into a fist fight with him as he wanted to sell us a case of beer (24) for $16 and Martin said no, he could get us a case for $13. They fought for a while, and the other guy even started to throw bottles, so it was getting nasty when an official of some sort came and broke up the fight. We were glad to get off the dock to anchor in the bay, and we really wondered what kind of a place we had got into. However, it turned into being a wonderful place. People were very friendly and happy, and we happened to stay there during their Independence Day celebrations which was very exciting with a carnival type of festivity. People were dressed to the hilt and many were dressed up as pirates, slaves, old people, devils etc. We took a motorcycle taxi (cycle plus a trailer for four) into the country side and visited a famous water fall where we had a refreshing dip and shampoo, a real treat when you are used to washing in salt water with a tiny bit of fresh splashed on top at the end. Two delightful, gorgeous looking boys of 12 years old acted as unofficial guides along the trail to the water fall. They were perfect, little gentlemen, offering Anne and Nicole their hand when crossing creeks or clambering over boulders and rocks. They were also pointing out the various trees, fruits and flowers on the way, and were obviously knowledgeable about the nature in their own back yard. Once at the waterfall, they gave us a show climbing up the steep rock face of the falls and dived into the pool below. It looked rather dangerous, but they seemed very much at home in this environment. They were so polite and cute, and Nicole and Anne were totally charmed. Needless to say, they ran away with a much bigger tip than they had dreamed of, judging from their big smiles. After enjoying the Dominican Republic for only 3 days, we pushed off for San Juan, Puerto Rico. Again, we had a fantastic sail, but again with the wind on the nose. The only scary incident on this stretch was a large whale which followed a couple of hundred feet behind us for about one hour making funny noises. A U. S. Coast Guard helicopter circled us a few times and asked us to keep our eyes open for a 24 foot boat with 2 people onboard, who had been reported overdue. We never saw it. We entered San Juan harbour at midnight. Since our running lights were out of order, we had to communicate with a couple of freighters coming and going through the narrow harbour entrance at the same time. A bit touchy when you pass a huge freighter by about 50-100 feet away in the pitch dark with dangerous reefs on both sides. Shayne was on the radio with the last freighter who confirmed that we were passing to his port - "red to red" - "Roger - Roger". He came out in the cockpit and almost passed out when he saw how close we were. San Juan was total civilization again. It could have been any big city in North America with all modern amenities, complete with a beautiful, but expensive Yacht Club, gorgeous hotels and gambling casinos, large shopping malls and Old San Juan with its small, narrow cobblestone streets and fantastic boutiques and restaurants. Old San Juan reminded us of Quebec City. Anne was delighted to find "Pro Algen" mineral pills manufactured by her nephew in Norway in a drugstore here - small world! This was the end of the trip for Shayne and Nicole and the start for Marit and Knut Endresen from Oslo, who arrived at 4 in the morning, loaded down with a week's supply of Norwegian newspapers, akevitt, exquisite Finnish Cloudberry (multe-) liqueur and many other goodies - another memorable feast onboard "NOR SIGLAR"! British Royalty and Hidden Treasures After a speedy sightseeing trip around the city and a visit to El Morro Castle which defended San Juan against Dutch, French and English attacks between 1550-1900, we were off again for a very rough overnight crossing to Isla Culebra, the last island in Puerto Rico, before entering the Virgin Islands. While we had been rushing to get here - first with Sven through the Bahamas and then with Shayne and Nicole from Caicos to Puerto Rico, we could finally relax. We covered only 180 miles in two weeks - really cruising and enjoying the many beautiful islands and anchorages in the British Virgin Islands. We visited the famous "Treasure Island" of Robert Lewis Stevenson fame and the caves where Blackbeard was said to have hidden his treasures. We also met Prince Philip who was paying a royal visit to the islands onboard the Britannia. He hadn't changed much since we last saw him in the Forbidden City in Beijing in 1986! Charter Boats and other Plagues The only thing we didn't like about the Virgin Islands were the hundreds of charter boats with crews who seemed to know very little about sailing, and particularly anchoring. We had to constantly be aware of boats anchoring literally on top of us. One bunch of guys from Germany dropped their anchor right on top of our chain in spite of me waving and yelling at them. Then, while they were out in their dinghy to check the anchor, they got so confused that they forgot to tie it to the boat afterwards. So it took off with the outboard engine running in slow forward! It was hilarious to watch one of them trying to catch up with it. But every time he was within reach it pulled away just a few inches. He fought bravely, but in the end, exhausted, had to give up, so another boater got it for him just before it would have run onto the beach! It was like a comedy! After they sheepishly had come over to ask us what to do, and after we had had to re-anchor, one of them came over to us with an ice cold bottle of beautiful French white wine - so we decided they weren't that bad after all. This area is full of cruise ships. Some of the "Club Med" ships are huge combined sail/motor vessels with five masts, popularly called "Floating Sex and Entertainment Resorts"! We also saw a few really beautiful, old schooners and other large sailing ships around, some of which are cruise ships with paying passengers. Today, we are anchored in beautiful Gorda Sound on the island of Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands. To recap, we have covered quite a distance since we left Fort Lauderdale on February 8 - about 1100 nautical miles - and most of it uphill against the easterly Tradewinds. Thank God we got a few so-called Northers on the way. These are strong north and north-east winds which develop from the stormy weather on the U. S. East Coast at this time of the year. When they reach the Bahamas and/or the Northern Caribbean, the storms or gales have diminished to just strong winds but at least they have turned in the right direction for going east. We have had friends with us all the time since we left Fort Lauderdale. The last visitors left yesterday, and it is odd, but nice to be alone again. We love having company, but it gets rather hectic with lots of fun, partying and non stop R & R. The trouble is, however, that all the little day to day chores get neglected, so now we are swamped with maintenance projects for a while. It is just amazing how they multiply when we don't keep on top of them. With this, we better beg off and go back to some maintenance work. We are all set for the "Big Crossing" this summer, and have lined up crew for all the stretches. Your letters continue to be most welcome. We are still accepting mail to our address in Vancouver. The next "mail man" to Nor Siglar will be Hubert Bunce from Vancouver, who is joining us in Bermuda at the end of May for the trip to the Azores. Copyright © Anne Brevig & Martin Vennesland. www.norsiglar.com | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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In The Caribbean
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NORWEGIAN 
Life is a bowl of cherries! Caicos, Bahamas
Iguanas in the Bahamas are a protected species 
US Coast Guard check us off the coast of Haiti for refugees and drug runners 
Searching through reefs and shallows to make landfall in the Caribbean