February 22/06 – Under the Volcano (Montserrat)

When we finally had an acceptable weather forecast, we left Deshaises at first light to sail from Guadeloupe to Nevis, past the volcanic island of Montserrat. We chose to sail up the windward (east) side to avoid the ash fallout from this still-active volcano. We must be getting accustomed to winds 15 – 20, seas 6-8, because it didn’t seem so bad this time. We rip-snorted along at 6 or 7 knots, heeled over in big seas, and had a wonderful view of the mountain as it burped and belched. We took a tour on Montserrat five years ago, so we decided not to stop this time. The wind dropped as we reached the island of Nevis, and we motor-sailed the last few hours. We covered 72 miles this day, and dropped the anchor just as the sun set