Shell beach

A picture of shell beach which is right by where the boat is anchored.

Gustavia

Made it to Gustavia. Headed in to check in and find breakfast.

Drifting

We arrived sooner than I had planned. I had anticipated significantly slower speeds for the first half of the trip but we had strong wind the whole way. We are now waiting outside the bay where Gustavia lies until daylight which will be an hour from now.

a wild ride

We're still underway towards St Bart's; just passed St Eustatia on our port. Wild waves out here; occasionally breaking over the boat in a shower of spray that soaks the cockpit. Making 8-9 knots which doesn't make the ride any smoother.

turning north

We've turned north now and are on an upwind course of 018M. As expected, we have some exciting wave action on this heading. Haven't really seen this since the Med as most of the time since then we have been sailing downwind. Our current speed is 6.5 knots and we have just over 30 miles to go so we should get there around 5 hours from now.

windy

Still sailing along the southern coast of St Kitts. Now under triple-reefed main and double-reefed genny yet still going 8 knots and occasionally up to 11. This boat can really move, especially with minimal wave action.

onward...

Departed Nevis at 9:30pm, headed to St Bart's. The wind is strong, coming from the east, and has been for days now so we're going to sail along the southern coast of St Kitts before turning northward for St Bart's to avoid the sizeable ocean swell as long as possible. Otherwise we would have slipped between Nevis and St Kitts to get more wind sooner.
Under single-reefed main and full genny we're making 8.5 knots in relatively flat water - maybe 2-3 ft waves. We can see the lights of Nevis and St Kitts and the stars are out. It's a bit colder than it has been; I'm a little chilly when I'm in the wind with a long sleeve shirt on (and shorts) but a bit too warm when inside and out of the wind.
The picture is of the lights of St Kitts.