March 29th we headed south and west toward Saba about 32 miles away. You can see her from St Maarten tall and majestic against the horizon. It's unnerving how she grew as we approached her. We were reminded of our first landfall of the South Atlantic Crossing, St Helena.
Here are some shots as we approached.
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Everything about Saba defies descriptions. It's sheer size and
dramatic exterior dwarf everything that
approaches it. Try to find the big red pick up truck in this picture taken as we
approached Well's Bay.
She presents a austere face to the sea on all sides. The marine park service provides 7 mooring balls for visiting Yachts. We chose one just off of the steep staircase called Ladder, which rises from the sea 1,000 feet. This was the Port of Entry until 1970. There is a small building half way up. This was the customs house. Goods were carried up the steps and cleared customs before being carried to the town of Bottom.
There is a tiny port carved from the cliffs on the South side of the island called Fort Bay where we visited with the authorities before exploring the island. We hiked "The Road" to "Bottom" which wound it's way 1300 feet up the mountainside. Bottom is the lower town on the island and Windwardside is higher up and on the opposite side facing east, hence it's name.
We had a pleasant afternoon and evening exploring and taking pictures. We found a great place for barbecue run by a man and his wife who once lived in Florida.
We found our way back to the boat in the dark that evening as the seas began to swell. Since Saba sits alone out in very deep water the surges here are commonplace but still unnerving. We double checked our lines and tried to go to sleep. On several occasions we woke, checked and went back to sleep. By early morning, just at first light, we realized we were far off the island. The mooring ball was still secured to the boat along with more than 60 feet of line. Nothing else except barnacles, shrimp and sea weed. We were almost four miles out to sea. Talk about wake up calls!
Here is the beginning and end of our overnight adventure.
It's hard to explain the eerie and unsettling feelings we had. It will be a long time before we'll sleep soundly on a mooring we have not checked out thoroughly. We returned to Saba as the sun rose and returned to line and ball to the puzzled Marine Park Official. We were off to St Barth just 27 miles to the Southeast.