The rewards of getting away from it all. Just another spectacular sunset in paradise.

After an exciting month cruising aboard our boat Viva in Antigua, it was on to St. Martin to meet our friends John and Jo Featherstones. They had planned to spend a week aboard and we were invited to spend a week ashore at their timeshare resort by the entrance to Simpson Bay. With Viva anchored in front, it was a treat to get off the boat for a week. John rented a car for the week so we could do a little land cruising and we really had a great time just playing tourist with them .

It is easy to circumnavigate St. Martin by car in a day, and one of our favorite stops was the little town of Grand Case on the French side. It is really a cute little village on a large bay with lots of trendy shops and there are probably more good restaurants in a four block area than anywhere else in the Caribbean.

In addition, there are several great open-air BBQ chicken and rib joints. For $8.00 US you could have a great sunset, a plate of ribs and a "decent" bottle of white wine for $10.00. To encourage business, many of the shops and restaurants now offer a one-to-one dollar exchange to Euros. During the season they have a local music night every Thursday with musicians from different islands performing on the main thoroughfare. Unfortunately, it ended the week before we arrived with John and Jo.

Our first stop on was a two-day trip to St. Barts, which has always been a fun stop with the chic restaurants and trendy shops. New Years will see up to a hundred mega yachts in the port of Gustavia, which makes this a favored spot for the wealthy "in" crowd. Unfortunately, now it is a bit pricey with the Euro exchange. After the hubbub of Gustavia, the quiet little anchorage of Anse de Colombier on the northwest corner is a restful stop. Moorings are available free of charge and there’s no road access; the only way to get here is by boat or a mile-long hike over the hills.

Next it was on to Anguilla, a long, low island about six miles north of St. Martin. This was a first time visit for us and we happened to arrive the weekend of the Anguilla Regatta in Road Bay. There are some beautiful coves and small island anchorages on Anguilla, but the locals have obviously discouraged cruising yachts with an exorbitant fee schedule compared to other islands. Although the entry charge to Road Bay was free for boats less than 20 tons, the charge for Viva to anchor anywhere else on the island was US$38.00 per day, payable in advance. The sneaky part is that the one-day permit ends at midnight so you are forced to get a permit for a minimum of two days. In addition, there is a US$15.00 per day fee for use of the required moorings. Needless to say, the anchorages are pretty quiet and uncrowded. I suppose that is one way to deal with the "riff raff"!

The 64-foot wooden Lone Fox struts her stuff in the Anguilla Regatta.

Upon our arrival in Road Bay, we ran into Randy West the skipper of the 64 ft. wooden ketch Lone Fox. Randy had been one the primary witness during our Protest episode in Antigua Collision at the 2005 Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta and was participating in the Anguilla Regatta. John and I were invited to race the next day aboard this classic yacht which had originally been built in 1957 for Colonel Whitbread of the brewery fame, and who eventually founded the Whitbread Around the World Race. It was a nice easy windward/leeward sail with Randy at the helm and a mixed crew of laid back locals from St. Barts and Anguilla. We were first to finish, but corrected to third.

During this "Mix Up" regatta, local West Indies sailors are invited to sail aboard the modern race boats in the morning and in the afternoon the gringos can catch a ride on one of the traditional island sloops. I was invited to race aboard Miss Anguilla, one of the 30-foot open wooden boats native to Anguilla and St. Martin and which were originally used for transporting sugar cane and the field workers up and down the island.

The rules are pretty loose: a jackrabbit start off the beach after a horn signal, followed by about a 10-mile windward/leeward leg. Nobody pays much attention to right-of-way rules; whoever arrives first when meeting gets to pass. The only mandatory rule is that you must finish with the same number of crew on board. Apparently in years past, several crewmembers were dumped at the weather mark to lighten ship for the downwind run and forced to swim ashore. That is now handled by large sandbags and several rocks, which are more easily and safely discarded.

The local West Indians are a delight to sail with; quite knowledgeable, very polite, laid back and best of all there’s no screaming. Once again, I was the only gringo in a sea of black faces! Needless to say, I've had my racing "fix" for the next few months but I know the craving will return!

After the Featherstones left, Pam and I decided to continue our circumnavigation of St. Martin with another night anchored in Grand Case and stops at some of the out-of-the-way anchorages on the north and east shores. It is really amazing how many neat anchorages there are on the backside of all these islands but due to the numerous reefs, shoals and other hazards, the cruising guides steer you to all the "ultra safe" areas. However, if you want to get away from the hordes, just find the anchorages surrounded by reefs and which are red-lined in all the cruising guides, requiring a lot of eyeball navigation.

After another two-day stop in St. Barts to replenish our paté, brie and croissants, we then headed over to Barbuda, a really remote, low-lying island about 60 miles to the southeast. Barbuda is only visible from 4 to 5 miles away and unfortunately, there are some 6 to 7-foot shoals that far offshore. There are only a few recommended anchorages and over 200 shipwrecks can attest to its reef-infested waters. The approach must be made with the sun behind or directly overhead. Barbuda is also famous for its 11-mile beach, which is probably the longest, unbroken beach in the Caribbean.

Of course Pam was in seventh heaven but I was once again looking for a few shade trees. I will admit that is was nice to have this unspoiled, uninhabited anchorage to ourselves.

Next, it was on to Antigua where we had a chance to finally explore the northwest anchorages of Jolly Harbor, Five Islands, Deep Bay, Dickenson Bay and of course a stop in the capital of St. Johns for a few provisions and a little sightseeing. If you visit, just hope the cruise ships aren't in!

During the ‘Mix Up’ Regatta, locals take yachties on as crew. The rules are a bit different, and the lack of yelling on board is a refreshing cultural difference.

These spots are fairly isolated at this time of the year and contain several "aging" resort hotels catering to budget-minded English tourists. It was then on to the North shore, another area hidden behind a lot of nasty reefs with hardly a cruising boat (and no charterboats) in sight. This is easy to understand if you read the fine red print on the charts for this area. The surveys were made in the 19th century using "celestial methods" and "lead lines," long before GPS and depth sounders. The small print warns that they may be off by only 500-1000 yards; but it's just enough to leave you aground or high and dry if you don't pay attention. For a change of pace, we anchored one night off Long Island at a very exclusive beach resort, one of those swanky "nearly dead" or newlywed hangouts. By law, they can't keep you off the beach; but don't try wandering the grounds above the high water line. During the "low season" with a few hours or day's notice, there was the possibility of dinner ashore--only after submitting your family tree, blood samples and photos of your evening attire (long dresses, sports coat and slacks only please)! Without checking the wine list or menu, we decided to pass; thereby ensuring another week of affordable cruising. The next day we took through a virtual minefield of shoals, reefs and coral heads to a pretty little anchorage at Bird Island. This is a wild uninhabited area with a couple of delightful anchorages and full of sea birds. There may be one or two day-sailing catamarans which spend a few hours and possibly a few small excursion boats from the fancy resorts. For a "nominal" fee, they bring the guests out for a Robinson Crusoe experience which includes an afternoon BBQ beach picnic, a short hike and a chance to rub shoulders with some of those nefarious yachties.

Being environmentally sensitive and now part of a marine park area, you are asked to refrain from loud noises, music and partying which might disturb nesting birds. With most of those resort guests, noise is not a big problem!

Finally, it was time to head back south and I guess all good things are due to come to an end. On our last day, after 20 years, the anchor windlass finally breathed its last sigh. This now requires anchoring (or I should say up-anchoring) by hand. I really shouldn't complain as we have had a relatively maintenance and repair-free voyage since leaving Venezuela. I only hope the back holds up until I can replace it in Trinidad.