After a leisurely coffee and granola bar breakfast I realized that I, too, should finally continue onwards and make my way south towards Guadeloupe. So I motored out of the anchorage and set the Genoa plus engine for a run to Gustavia on St. Barths in order to clear into (and out of) St. Barthélemy. The outer anchorage was quite crowded but the swell didn’t seem bad; until I dinghied into the Capitainerie in order to perform my clearance and saw that not a single boat was at the docks (at this time of year those docks are typically filled wall-to-wall with big mega yachts) and that the surge was, in part, rolling over the concrete walkway along the docks. I managed to tie the dinghy and go into the office and got only partially wet but managed not to fall into the water!
The St. Barths clearance system saves time by remembering both boats and crew members (including items such as passport numbers which are a chore to type in, particularly on the French keyboards) but this time I’d forgotten my password and waited about 45 minutes before the official opted to assist me. Once in the system I decided to clear out for Antigua the next day, paid my €17 fees and then went to a coffee shop for a croissant, a Café au Lait and use of their internet connectivity in order to catch up on the world. A short stop at the grocery store in order to get some cheeses, fresh Parmesan and Prosciutto and then I was heading back to Zanshin and could remove my yellow “Q” flag.
I decided to spend the night tucked away in Colombier instead of remaining in the open Gustavia outer anchorage – a bad choice, in retrospect so weighed anchor and was surprised to see “Pregnanseas” waiting for my anchor spot. We exchanged greetings as fellow Jeanneau 57 drivers and went our way. I found a good inner mooring ball at Colombier, but as the afternoon progressed I realized that the wind would push the stern almost into the waves being reflected from the far side and the shape of my stern section is such that waves slap and slam in from there; and when they slam the whole boat vibrates and it sounds like the inside of a drum.
But it was too late to change and I was unsure of whether I’d be better off elsewhere, so I decided to stay put and search for the earplugs that I use when flying or driving the motorcycle so that I could get at least a bit of sleep.
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