by Scott Leonard with Zoe Alexander
One of the more mystical elements of sailing is encountering the type of geography that looks as if it could be described in epic poetry.
The Islands that Brush the Clouds are such a place.
They are an island chain that form part of the Leeward Islands in the West Indies and consist of Saba, Saint Eustatius, Saint Christopher (“Saint Kitts”), Nevis, Redonda and Montserrat. Each of the six islands has a distinct personality, as well as geography and culture. The one common attribute they all share is volcanoes – dramatic structures that jut into the sky, surrounded by clouds and mist- looking like something from a movie.
Sailing to Saba from St. Martin. A nice and easy 2 hour “down hill” run. I was grateful to NOT be heading East for once.
Cool Fact: Most of these islands host medical schools, both U.S. and Canadian accredited. Saint Kitts has a large veterinarian school and a few medical schools specifically for Middle Eastern students.
SABA:
Our first stop was Saba; a small, round island with no real, natural cove. So even on the west side of the island, the east swell curves around and makes for a very bad swell. This makes for a very uncomfortable and dangerous anchorage. That was unfortunate- we would like to have stayed longer. However, part of the island’s charm is that due to this geography, it is not frequently visited by boats. An interesting fact about Saba is that they have no natural water supply, so everyone catches rainwater and stores it under their homes in cisterns. Because they have no water table, this is one of the few places on earth where you can be buried in your backyard.
For most of Saba’s history, boats needed to risk the rocks to bring goods onto the island. And, the only point of entry was up the steps. The building you see was the customs office. At their museum we saw a grand piano that was carried -by hand- up these stairs.
The sunset off Saba.
Here we are, with St. Martin in the background.
SAINT EUSTATIUS
Our next stop was Saint Eustatius. The highlight of this trip was a climb to the top of a volcano, “The Quill.” We started at sea level (literally), and hiked all the way up to the top, almost 2,000 feet! It rained on and off, as the volcanoes attract clouds. The Quill was designated as a National Park in 1998 and features amazing terrain you would expect from a lush rainforest.
Half way up The Quill, Luke is showing us the way to go.
We had company on our hike; a feral rooster followed us up to The Quill. It was rewarded for its effort with some food at the top.
Griffin helped Luke up the steep parts.
Finally… the summit. You can see Saba in the background (to the left of us); further left is where the boat is anchored.
The boys take a water break on the side of the road.
Three Little Birds gets jealous if she is not is a photo now and then.
The Crew, tired from the hike, helps each other down the final hill
SAINT CHRISTOPHER
Our next stop was Saint Christopher (or Saint Kitts for short). This is the biggest island and part of the cruise ship circuit. As a result, it has become completely reliant upon tourism. The island used to have thriving sugar cane industry. And- as a natural offshoot from that- rum was manufactured as well. Unfortunately, with global competition and the encroaching tourist trade, the sugar industry died and rum is no longer made on the island. But the sweetness lives on, there is wild sugar cane growing over much of the island, which the boys loved.
Luke demonstrates the proper technique for removing the husk from sugar cane.
A canon
The wreck of a small wooden jolly boat
A pod of dolphins escort us along St. Kitts.
There is a fort on top of Brimstone Hill. (Did I mention that I love visiting old forts?) They also make their own Brimstone Hot Sauces.
You can’t miss our tour bus.
Here we are by an old sugar mill.
Here are remains of the old boiling caldrons. The workers would put the pulp and juice from the sugar cane into these caldrons to boil off the water. They burned the dried cane for the fire.
Cool fact: There are about 5 monkeys for every resident of St. Kitts.
Here is the view from Brimstone Hill. In the distance is “The Quill”- the volcano we climbed on Saint Eustatius.
This is a model of the living quarters in the fort on Brimstone Hill. Looks very rustic except for the A/C in the background – how civilized.
Punishment by for death - for what crime?!?
Roadside snack of natures candy, a little sugar cane juice over ice.
Our family on the windward side of the island.
NEVIS
Our final stop was Nevis, which was home to our favorite beach bar yet, Sunshine’s. The island is very relaxed, and the people were kind and welcoming. They have a saying, which I think is a slight jab at Saint Kitts (they are both part of the same country), “Don’t worry mon, this is Nevis.”
We tied off on a mooring buoy between Sunshine’s and the Four Seasons Resort. You can have a laid-back meal with your feet in the sand at Sunshine’s, or if you want the upscale features of a resort, the Four Seasons on Nevis is awesome.
The Boys rafting – that’s Sunshine’s in the background.
This is a view of the volcano that created Nevis. We were there for 3 days, and we never did see the top of the volcano because it was very rainy, especially at night. One night if seemed as if every time I opened the hatch over my bed to get a cool breeze, it would start raining - again!
The picturesque sunset from Nevis… Good Bye for now!
