2015 Caribbean Cruising

Cruising with Friends
 With Wereda back in the water

Edi and Co arrived on schedule on their cat Arguin

and Ginger on board we left 
St. Martin for St. Barthelemy
to await a group of our friends
from Austria and from Houston.
Edi chartered a catamaran Arguin in St. Martin for a 2 week long "Caribbean Quest 2015".

Everyone was presented with shirts

They arrived at Anse de Colombier as scheduled and we had a big reunion party that evening and were presented with special shirts ordered by the Westerlunds just for this occasion. Next day Wereda 

Next morning we left for Guadelupe. Edi&Co 
 sailed to St.Kitts

left for Guadelupe and Arguin

for St. Kitts. After a gorgeous day and almost all night sailing at around 4am the heavy winds arrived. Hoping they will abate in an hour or so we hove-to but two hours later winds were still howling strong so we continued  

Deshaies, Guadelupe

on our way and arrived at Deshaies early afternoon. The
harbor was packed so we 

Group reunited in Deshaies the following day

anchored by the beach nearby. Next day we dinghied over to Deshaies to see the town and have some refreshments and internet. On the way out of the harbor we spotted the Arguin with all our friends. Next morning we all left for Dominica and after an almost a day long sail we arrived at Prince Rupert Bay and the Arguin arrived about an hour later.             ... will continue when we have internet again...

Arriving at Prince Rupert Bay, Dominica

Dominica, First Two Days

Enjoyed may gorgeous views during our tour

After a choppy ride we were very
happy to pull into Prince Ruppert Bay and gladly accepted mooring ball from Alexis who greeted us just as we were rounding the Cabrits. He  is one of the several operators under P.A.Y.S. and we 

A well stocked bar with homemade infusions

ended up using his services for
touring the island and more. 
In the evening we had a dinner
at the Purple Turtle beach bar.
As our friends from Houston had
to fly home in a couple of days, 
we set out for the tour of Domnica 

At the Spanny Waterfall

with Alexis first thing next 
morning. A comfortable van 
took all nine of us and the driver
provided us with the description
of the variety of sites we were 
visiting. Around lunchtime we
pulled into an unassuming 

Enjoying the cool bathe

establishment only to discover
a gorgeous view from the dining
room, a bar full of homemade
rum infusions and a very tasty
local food. 
Next stop - the Penrice Spanny
Waterfalls. A short walk through
the rain forest brought us to a 

On the way to the Indian River

300ft tall waterfall cascading into a small pool. Water was quite chilly but this did not stop any one from having a blast. 
It was time to go back to our
boats. Click  HERE for video.
Tomorrow - Indian River.

At the entrance - local kids enjoyed chatting with us

Dominica, Last Two Days
Saturday morning Andrzej and 
Lila left for Houston and our re-
maining group boarded Alexis's
pirogue for a rowboat trip up the

Alexis rowing us deeper and deeper into the jungle

Indian River. Almost right from 
the start we became surrounded
by the creepy looking trees that 
were lining both banks of the
river with their roots reaching
the water. The Swamp Blood Trees they are called. The space between the trees was densely covered with 

Swamp Blood Trees lining banks of the river

Party at the Indian River Bush Bar

ferns and Elephant Ears plants were growing on the tree trunks. With Alexis expertly rowing we were silently moving deeper and deeper and a feeling of surreal was almost palatable... until his cell phone rung.  At the end of the navigable portion of the river we found ourselves at an entrance to the Bush Bar, where

Girls were given "origami" freshly made by Alexis

after some drinks (Dynamites) the dancing and merrymaking had begun. Alexis made origami style palm frond cranes and offered one to each of the ladies accompanied with a bright red ginger flower. It was time to 
head back.
Click HERE for a short video.
Next morning Monday, February 23rd after filling our tanks with a fresh spring Dominicas water we set sails back north with Iles les Saints as Wereda's destination 

Les Saintes. Sugar Loaf

and Arguin sailed for Marie Galante and later for Antigua. We will meet again in St. Barths for their last stop before returning the boat at the
Oyster Pond, St. Martin. 

Les Saintes. Wereda in Terre-De-Haut

Les Saintes. Colorful houses in Terre-De-Haut 

The weather remained quite windy and our sail to the Saints was brisk and choppy. As we pulled into the Terre-de-Haut we were very happy to find a single mooring buoy left waiting for us to pick it up. Our plan was to spend two nights here but after checking the weather it appeared that we may have a better weather window for an overnight sail to St. Barths if we left around midday the next day

Rounding Pointe Du Fort Vieux, Guadelupe

instead. With that in mind, we got up early to go ashore and to have a nice breakfast at the Doyle's recommended Galeon and to see a bit of the town. Well, the waitress at
Le Galeon must have
had a bad last night, or last day or perhaps even the whole last week.
Such a rude table manners I could not remember since my

Motor-sailing in the lee of  Guadelupe

days back in communist Poland. After strolling around and buying a fresh baguette
we returned to Wereda and prepared for a half day sail to

Pleasant sail to St. Barths

Deshaies in Guadelupe. The winds were brisk and seas choppy until we rounded
Pointe Du Vieux Forte with it's
distinct lighthouse on the SW tip
of Guadelupe. Next morning we
set sails for St. Barths. The sail was very nice compared to the ones on our way South. Even the night was quite pleasant. We arrived in St. Barths on Wednesday, Feb. 25th and Edi

Relaxing in Anse de Colombier

and Co. on the Arguin showed
up on Thursday as planned. They said they really liked their stay in Antigua. And they had a surprise for us. After checking-in in Gustavia they went to the Fish Market there and bought seven

Going on a hike to the village atop the hill

lobsters to have a nice dinner in
celebration of Anja's Birthday. 

No comment needed

Philipp grilled the critters to perfection and all had a great time until late which included a bonfire on the beach. Earlier in the day, though, we went on a hike to the small settlement of Colombier perched up on the top of the hill overlooking the Bay. It is slightly over 500 ft of vertical 

elevation from the beach and
about 25 minutes of walk time.

Anya at the pinnacle...

Next morning we said good-bye to our friends from Austria as they had to leave early to return the boat and catch the plane home. We were now looking to have some ten quiet days in Anse de Colombier. Meantime the wicked winds returned with vengeance and it was almost scary hearing constant howling in the rigging. My handheld

Philipp grilling lobster on s/y Arguin

wind gauge was showing 40+ knots and that was in agreement with weather reports. We were still enjoying our selves while swimming, snorkeling or making shore trips with walks and climbs to a nearby (1.5 mile) village 
of Flamandes. Click HERE for a 

Happy Birthday, Anya!

short video. Finally it was time for us to return to St. Martin. After a 2 hour stop at Ile Fourchue to wait out a massive squall - we sailed to Anse 

Bonfire on the beach. What can top that!

Marcel where we filled up our water tanks and had a nice wine with Martine and John at their floating wine bar. We met Martine and John while in Anse de Colombier a few days earlier. They noticed Wereda hailed from Houston and they dinghied over to say hi, being from Kemah area themselves.

Osprey in Marigot Bay, St. Martin

Jacek visiting Wereda

Later we dropped the anchor in Grand Casse for the night. Following morning we arrived in Marigot Bay. Next day  was Ginger's departure day and I am awaiting her return here while working on several things that need repairs, anchor windlass mount among others.

Alone at Anchor in Marigot Bay

...not quite alone for a few 
days, at least. On our first day back in Marigot and while 

Adam and Tomek returning from work

dinghying over to town we 
passed by a Polish yacht 
Osprey. 
Ginger and I have met
Capt. Jacek Rajch and his 
wife Ewa several years back 
in Lodz, Poland and again in 
2013 in St. Thomas as Osprey 

And the dinner is served...

and Wereda anchored in 
Lindbergh Bay.
No one was on board so we 
only left a note. When 
we've met the next day, 
Jacek told me that Ewa was 
not with him and that he had 
a couple of guests from 

and entertainment has begun. Opening act by Adam

Poland sailing with him from 
Martinique to the Dominican 
Republic and that he will 
continue on his own to Miami.
The guests, Adam and Tomek 
were on shore at the moment, 
playing and singing for tips 
at the local bars. 

to be followed by Tomek

Also in the anchorage was
Polish square rigger 
s/v Fryderyk Chopin.
For the next three days, after
the guys returned from their 
labors ashore, we would
share some drinks and food
and listen to Adam and Tomek

Osprey leaving Marigot Bay for the BVI

singing. Their repertoir 
obviously included the well
known hits but for themselves
they preferred playing more 
ambitious pieces and self 
authored songs. We had a great 
time. Click HERE for a short

Windlass is on its new base

video. Also click HERE to listen to Adam singing his own song (in Polish).
On Saturday, March 14th Osprey
weighed her two anchors(yes, 
2 anchors - winds were still 
blowing like crazy) and
sailed out to the BVI.
In the meantime, several 

The Bell received a new polish

projects were being worked on. 
The anchor windlass support
that disintegrated the day
we were leaving for St. Barths
had to be built anew and that
was farmed out to the Custom
Fit Marine, but final fitting
had to be finished onboard.

Another spectacular sunset enjoyed from 
Wereda cockpit

The head had to be worked on
again to hunt down the leak,
a storage for bottled water
had to be fashioned etc, etc
so I am in no danger of
getting bored. 
The greatest pleasure is to

A delicious Easter Sunday breakfast

retire to the cockpit at the end of the day with a 'sundowner' in my hand and watch those sunsets. I do not know if I ever tire of 
watching them, camera always handy.

Great Bay beach, Sint Maarten

Easter in St. Martin

The Easter arrived and is 
already gone. But not the 

Beachfront, Phillipsburg

memories. Last year's Easter
my friends from Poland and
I, while in Anguilla, we went
to attend a Mass at the 
Catholic church over there
celebrated by the Polish priest,
Father Paul. Not so this year.
No Easter Mass for me. But

Maho. Watching planes flying low.

a traditional Good Friday
fasting was observed and hard 
boiled eggs for Easter Sunday
breakfast were had along with
an array of various cold cuts
of meat and a hearty drink. 
Monday is a holiday here on the
French side. To break away

Surrounde.d by a small herd of goats

from  the Wereda, I boarded
a local bus and went to the 
Dutch side - to Phillipsburg.
A nice stroll along the Great
Bay beach followed by a 
delicious gelato of mango,
pistachio and tiramissou. 
From there got on the bus

This kid might be too curious for his own good

to Maho Bay and watched
planes landing and taking
off. It is always fun to watch
these planes flying so low. 
Click HERE for a video. On
the way back to Marigot, 
while waiting for the bus, I was
all of the sudden, surrounded

Hi!

by a small herd of goats on
their way to their next trash 
bins site. It was time to get
back to the Wereda but as
I approached the dinghy dock
at the TOBY, a huge iguana
appeared and seamed  quite at
ease as I was taking the pictures.

A huge iguana appeared by the dinghy dock at TOBY

It would have been a perfect
holiday if not for our poor dog
Darla being very ill back at 
home  in Houston. Ginger is
taking great care of Darla but
this may cause some changes 
to our sailing plans for the
rest of the season.

Anse de Colombier at sunset

School of  Blue Tangs at Anse de Colombier

Saint Barthelemy Encore
Ginger arrived on May 6th and

Juvenile French Angel Fish

May 7th we heaved our anchor
and left Marigot Bay after filling
our water tanks to the brim. A 
few days earlier I went ahead 
and stripped the anchor chain 
and the hull of a few weeks 
worth of marine growth.
We covered the 24 NM distance

A rich trimaran visits Anse with it's loud "cargo"

in some 5 hours and picked up
a mooring ball in Anse de 
Colombier around 5 PM.
We begin to feel at home here
and can almost give names to
the turtles that inhabit the Bay.
We've got very busy paddling

A turtle approaches us 

around on our Alpacka PackRafts, snorkeling along the SE shores and hiking to the village of Colombier some 500 ft above the bay. One day, the winds became so gusty that we returned to Wereda instead of continuing our hike to the village

Wereda at anchor by the Fort Oscar

of Flamandes. After a week, as the weather improved, a Marine Park ranger reminded us that our week in the park was up and we had to leave, if only for a day. So we did and anchored out near the Petite Saints, outside of

A Blue Tang says hello...

Gustavia, right below the Fort Oscar. The weather could not have been better and we went to town to catch up on emails, etc. The outside location of the spot ensures the water being extra clear - I could see every link of our anchor chain and almost 

The youth of St. Barths is enjoying the small
sailboat racing right outside off the Petite Saints

every grain of sand from some 27 feet above. But that had location, also had it's dark side as an invading swell started rolling and rocking Wereda  at around 10PM tossing anything unsecured around with a big

Anse du Colombier  - a turtle surfacing for air

bang. So for half of the night we were chasing all these wayward items - the seas seemed to find the new ones as soon as we took care of the ones at hand. Needless to say we got up quite tired and groggy the next morning. Around 3PM we 
picked up the anchor
and sailed back to Anse de

Anse du Colombier - a sea going Turkish cat

Colombier. This is our last 
week here for this season. We
will return to Marigot next
Sunday or Monday and will
put Wereda on the hard on
Thursday before heading back
to Houston for the hurricane 
season.

Enjoying the high life in Simpson Bay

End of the 2015 Season

All good things have to 
come to an end, and so 
is the 2015 Caribbean
sailing season. Wereda 

Simpson Bay Lagoon

with Ginger and myself 
left St. Barthelemy  on
Sunday, May 24 and set
sails towards Simpson
Bay, St. Martin in pre-
paration for a Lagoon 
crossing to reach TOBY
since the French side

At anchor near the Witche's Tit

bridge was out of commi-
ssion. The passage was
uneventful and we reached
Simpson Bay in around
3 hours. Following day we 
cleared both, the Simpson
Bay Bridge and Causeway
Bridge and dropped the

Sunset at the Lagoon

anchor right off the Grand 
Isle across from the Witch's 
Tit. That was an easy part.
Reaching TOBY from
there was a different story
altogether. The so called
channel is very treacherous
and even being armed with

Getting ready for the haul-out

the latest GPS co-ordinates
did not prevent us from
running aground.
We were able to back out 
and reached TOBY without
further problems and we 
arrived on schedule for
the 0900 HRS haul-out. As

Wereda is lifted out of the water...

of now, Ginger is back in
Houston and I am lingering
behind to get Wereda  ready
for a 7 months storage. If all goes well, I should be in Houston Tuesday, June 2nd.

The plan is to return to St. Martin in January 2016 and
start the 2016 sailing season,