Louay Habib Caribbean blog: Messing About in Boats

Humpback whale breaching © NOAA

There is nothing, absolute nothing, half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats. - Kenneth Graeme, Wind in the Willows.

The offer of three days cruising in the Caribbean with Derek and Sandra Saunders on Corby 45, Incisor was too good an opportunity to miss. Incisor had been competing in the Heineken St.Maarten Regatta and decided to island hop back to Antigua.

St.Barths was our first port of call, an island I had never visited before. Incisor approached Port Gustavia as the sun was setting but there was enough light to see hundreds of starfish, as we readied lines for mooring up. St.Barths is one of the most trendy and fashionable island in the Caribbean and distinctively French in architecture and ambience, like a little corner of Provence. The restaurants and bars are just as expensive as the South of France, however the Supermarché on the front was surprisingly good value.

The following day, St.Kitts beckoned and it was a day to remember for wild life. Glimpses of turtles and two small tuna off, just a lure and a hand-line, was a great early evening meal but the highlight of the trip was a fully grown whale breaching clean out of the water just 200 yards from the boat. The initial shock was tempered by a feeling of how lucky we were to witness such an amazing sight. Probably a Hump Back, it was as big as the boat and launched over 30 tons out of the water crashing back down to disappear beneath the waves. An over night stop in St.kitts was an interesting experience. The main town of Basseterre is run down but the locals are friendly enough and unusually for a small Caribbean nation, St.Kitts has a five story Anglican Church, which is in magnificent condition.

Nevis is literally a few miles from St.Kitts and is very underdeveloped with rolling hills and rain forest, along it's western shoreline are dozens of chimney stacks, relics of sugar cane plantations in the past. Whilst Derek Saunders was checking in, the rest of the crew enjoyed a few drinks at a local bar, where a born and bred Nevisian, Tricksy told us about his country with pride. Columbus named the island Nuestra Señora de las Nieves ("Our Lady of the Clouds") because of the volcanic mountain at its centre usually, which is often encircled by cloud. A secure anchorage and an inviting beach bar was the place to unwind for the afternoon before a night sail to Antigua.

It has been a long time since I have taken the wheel of a boat under-sail. As a yachting journalist, I often get to go on fantastic rides but I am just an observer, I might get 5 minutes at the wheel but that's it. I was on watch at 01:30 with Jon Bassinder, a Brummie who now lives in Falmouth Cornwall. I was apprehensive about taking the wheel at night, upwind in a fairly agitated sea state and it seemed to take forever to pass the foreboding lump of rock, Redonda but fairly quickly I got into the rhythm and it was a fantastic experience; helming at night with thousands of stars, watching the glow of Antigua in the distance.

Incisor is a great boat for a dwarf like me, I am about the same height as the designer, John Corby so everything was at the right height! Every island we visited was very different but arriving by sea to a Caribbean island gives a different perspective and the trip between the islands is always full of surprises. The biggest plus for a yachting journalist, is to experience sailing in its purest form, which keeps me in touch with the sport and re-visiting skills such as driving, trimming, navigating, tying up, and just deploying an anchor. Practical sailing skills, which you don't experience sitting at a computer.

Many thanks to Derek and Sandra Saunders and the crew of Incisor: Josh Sykes, Hazell Saunders, Jon Bassinder and Jasper Dane.