March 5, 2006 Crossing the Anegada

We are in the British Virgin Islands at last! Cliff was right again, and by waiting an extra week, we had a windless and almost flat crossing of the dreaded Anegada Passage. We left Nevis yesterday morning about 9:30 and motor-sailed on a port tack on a light breeze from the southwest, a very unusual direction in the easterly Trade Winds belt. We reached the island of Saba at about 4:30 and considered stopping for a few hours to break the trip, but in the end we just motored along the coast to have a look, and then continued on.

Saba is a small Dutch island which rises straight up out of the sea 3000 feet and has no beaches or flat areas for settlements along the water. Very steep roads climb up to the two small towns, Bottom, which is at about 1000 ft., and Windwardside, which is at about 2000 ft. At a place called Ladder Bay there is a concrete stairway made up of 800 steps, climbing up to the road. We saw a number of young people swimming off the rocks at the bottom of the "ladder" -- possibly students from the ubiquitous American Medical School, located up in Bottom.

As we continued on we were able to make and eat dinner underway, enjoy the beautiful sunset on the Anegada, and even sit inside passing the time playing computer games in the dark. There was no moon, but the stars were brilliant, with the brightest stars making startracks on surface of the smooth, shiny seas. The waves glowed with phosphorescence, sometimes even outlining fish swimming below. During the night the radar showed only occasional distant targets, and Cliff changed course a few times to dodge squalls which appeared on the screen.