On the third day of our Caribbean Cruise on the tall ship, Star Flyer, Scott and I arrived in the port of Terre-de-Haut in Iles des Saintes. The Îles des Saintes, or Les Saintes, are dependency islands of Guadeloupe, a French overseas territory in the Caribbean. The main island, Terre-de-Haut, is known for Pain de Sucre Beach’s coral-rich waters and palm-lined Les Saintes Bay.
There were no excursions for this island, so most of the passengers took the tender to town to explore. It was a quick 5 minute trip to the dock, where we arrived to a quaint French town full of shops and restaurants. They only take the Euro, so we had to find an ATM to get cash for some items at the grocery store (water, beer).
Tour of the town
Terre-de-Haut consists of only a few streets. Lots of tourists were renting scooters to explore the island. It’s a fun little beach town, but very expensive. Scott and I stopped in a shop to buy a couple of nice shirts and our total was over $150 Euro ($180 US)!
If you want to have lunch, they have beautiful cafes, but they require reservations. Who uses Open Table when you’re out in the middle of the ocean? Sadly, some the restaurants were rude about it. We did sit down in one restaurant, that was literally along the shoreline and dinghy dock. But after 20 minutes, they never came to take our order, so we headed back to the ship.
The beaches of Terre-de-Haut
We grabbed a quick bite on the ship and then changed into our swimsuits to head over to the beach. The cruise line has a partnership with Hotel Bois Jolie. Simply buy a beverage from the bar and you should be able to get a beach chair. However, they don’t have a lot of chairs, so we ended up on a beach towel. You can snorkel right off of the beach, but they have tons of sea urchins, so make sure you wear your water socks!
Sun-downer in the Caribbean
Since we were in the Caribbean, we assumed we would have amazing sunsets each night, but it really depends on where the cruise ship is anchored. Isles des Saintes did not disappoint! The weather was warm, the breeze was light and the scenery was magical.
Day 4 – Guadeloupe
We arrived in Guadeloupe in the morning. This island is also a French colony. While we were waiting for customs to allow us off the ship, guests were allowed to climb up to the mast. Ben was ready, along with Fred – an 89 year old Coast Guard Veteran!
In case I didn’t mention it earlier, when you arrive on the ship, sign up for the excursions immediately or you will miss out. There were some for Guadeloupe we wanted to do, but we were too late. So we decided to head into town and visit the De Deshaies Botanical Gardens. The tender ride is about 10 minutes, as we were anchored pretty far out. Once you arrive at the dock, there are taxi drivers waiting for tourists to drive them to the gardens (which are up a steep hill-about 1 mile)
The Gardens
Guadeloupe is known for it’s lush and tropical scenery. The Botanical Gardens tour takes about an hour and they do have a restaurant inside. However, it was very buggy and Maria and I started to get eaten alive by “no see-ums”, so take bug spray!
The views from the gardens are stunning and definitely worth the trek. Plus they had a variety of birds AND goats! They were the highlight of the tour.
Though we made arrangements for our taxi driver to come back and get us, he never showed. So we had no choice, but to walk back down to the marina. It took about 20 minutes, but you walk on the road, so be cautious of cars.
We were all so exhausted after walking all day in the heat and humidity that we turned in early after dinner.
Watch our full episode on YouTube below:
Where to next?
Next stop is Antigua! Our favorite island in the Caribbean. Stay tuned for our next blog for a full island tour and swimming with the sting rays!
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Everyone has been asking us, what made you go on a tall ship cruise on the Star Flyer? Well, Scott and I have always wanted to book a charter boat in the Caribbean, but we’ve hesitated for a few reasons. One, we don’t know how to bare boat & we were not sure if we would like sailing for seven days straight. The best alternative was to book a sailing trip with Star Clipper vacations, on the Star Flyer. This tall ship holds about 180 people and does not have the same luxurious amenities as a large cruise ship. My girlfriend from college cruised o this ship in the Mediterranean and loved it!
The Itinerary
This cruise was a 7 night cruise, visiting a new island every day:
We left on Thursday, March 7th on a red eye flight out of Seattle and arrived in Sint Maarten, on Friday, March 8th around 12pm. We chose to arrive a day early, in case we had any flight issues.
Scott and I knew that the island was still in recovery mode from Hurricane Irma two years ago. The airport was nearly destroyed and now the airport is almost back to normal. Customs and Immigration took us about an hour and was a bit chaotic. The drive to the hotel (Holland House) which was in Philipsburg took about an hour too. As we drove around the island, we saw numerous abandoned boats and buildings damaged by Hurricane Irma. Traffic can be bad driving around the island. So plan accordingly.
It was our wedding anniversary on March 8th and the hotel upgraded us to a suite – oh my, what a treat! Located right on the beach overlooking the bay, this is the place to stay!
Things to do
Sint Maarten is known for its airplane beach “Maho Beach”. Here jets fly directly over beach goers as they fly in. Scott and I couldn’t pass this opportunity up, so the following day we took a taxi to the beach to check it out. I will say, it was packed and loaded with people! There are two bars and they also have the flight schedules. Planes come in about every 20 minutes and we were there between 11:15am and 12pm. It is definitely a unique experience and I do not recommend standing directly behind a plane when it takes off. We were standing to the side and still got sand blasted. Be sure to watch our video on our YouTube channel for all of the footage.
Downtown Philipsburg, St. Maarten
Our friends, Ben & Maria were joining us on the cruise and they arrived about the same time we were at Maho Beach. We instructed them to go to Holland House, get a day pass for their bags and meet us for cocktails. The hotel is located on Fontstreet, which is the main shopping district. The outdoor bar is located along the beach boardwalk, which is full of restaurants, shopping and bars.
After a few cocktails, Maria and I headed to the Saturday Market for some souvenirs. One thing I will say about Sint Maarten, is that the residents are so friendly – probably one of the friendliest islands in the Caribbean.
Around 3:30pm, the hotel lobby was full of guests heading to the cruise terminal. Check-in for the cruise was between 4pm – 7pm, so we decided to hang back for an hour to avoid the crowds. This turned out to be a smart decision, as we flew through the terminal check-in.
The Star Flyer – Departure Day
Check-in on the ship was pretty fast (if you wait an hour). First you meet the purser, who takes your passports. If you know anything about traveling by boat to other countries, you know that the captain maintains your passports for check-in authorities. The same is true for large cruise ships. In return, you are given an “official ID” card from the cruise line – this allows you to enter and depart each country. Next we were given our keys and off we went (oh, with our welcome cocktail too).
Because the ship was swaying right away in port, I immediately put on my Sea-Band and took a Bonine motion sickness pill. Both worked like magic! After we dropped our bags off, we headed straight to the library to sign up for our excursions. These fill up FAST, so don’t wait too long. We missed out on a couple, but were able to get the Sting Ray Experience on Antigua.
We stayed in room 302 – which was located on the bow . Our room was nice a roomy and were told it was bigger than most. We do know that some of the top end rooms had couches and Jacuzzi tubs too.
One thing we didn’t think about though, was our room was near the top deck and it swayed not only side to side, but up and down. If you get motion sick, don’t pick this room! Every night from 5p – 6p, the cruise ship has light snacks and then dinner begins at 7:30pm. We were scheduled to leave port around 10pm after dinner and set sail. This was a pretty cool experience.
As we set off into the pitch darkness, they began raising the sails and also played the theme song, Conquest of Paradise each time. After spending about an hour on deck, it was time to head to bed.
Quick Note about Wi-Fi: The boat has it, but it’s $10/hour, so we never used it except on the last day. We waited to get on land and find bars that offered it for free.
Day one – Nevis
Since Scott and I were not used to sleeping on a moving boat (that went up and down all night long), we had a rough first night’s sleep. Scott and I headed to breakfast around 9am and we were still sailing (try going thru the buffet line while at a 15 degree heel). Finally we arrived in Nevis around 11am and dropped anchor.
The reviews said there wasn’t a lot to do or see on Nevis, so the four of us decided to relax on deck and soak up some sun. Keep in mind, they have two very small pools on deck meant to just cool you off.
To get to shore, our life boats (tenders) are dropped into the water and passengers use the gangway steps to climb down the side of the ship to the tender. It was pretty rough in the bay, so it was interesting to watch people maneuver both.
Our days on the ship consisted of the same activities each day – breakfast, lunch, cocktails, light snacks, cocktails and then dinner.
Each morning, the activities director will do a briefing of the new island and give instructions on what to do, type of currency and times of departure. Every evening, the ship has different activities at the tropical bar each night. This bar is the only bar and is the hub for all meetings.
Day two – Dominica
Each night the ship puts the next day’s itinerary in your room. Our next stop was Dominica, which is a very small rustic island. Dominica is the northernmost of the Windward Islands (though it is sometimes considered the southernmost of the Leeward Islands). They are a French colony.
The excursions for the island included river rafting, which we didn’t want to do, so we planned on checking the island out on our own. Before we arrived, we had a scheduled sail with our sister ship, The Royal Clipper from 9am – 10:30am. This was a really cool and beautiful experience. I was surprised to see so many people on the bow plank though!
What to do in Portsmouth, Dominica
There were two things to do on your own – you could go to the beach or go to the Fort. Scott and I love old Forts, so we headed in that direction. It’s located in the Cabrits National Park, about a 10 minute walk straight up hill.
We loaded up in the tender, which is scary at first. The ship is moving up and down about a foot and then you have to gracefully get on board.
The ride to the dock, was about 5 minutes and we immediately noticed the damage from Hurricane Irma. Dominica was nearly destroyed during the hurricane and they are still recovering.
Check in at Prince Rupert’s Tavern to buy your pass (I think it was US $5/pp) and this gives you access to the Fort and also the hiking trails.
I wasn’t up for any hike, so we just checked out Fort Shirley. You can explore the different buildings and the view look-outs over the bay.
After our hike, we headed back to Prince Rupert’s Tavern for a cold beer. They have free Wi-Fi when you buy food or drinks. We bought two beers and they came out of the freezer (almost slightly frozen). It was so hot that day, that these were the best beers we’ve had in a long time!
We returned to the ship a few hours later and discovered where they store all of their booze! They keep it in the belly of the ship and use a cargo net to bring it out.
Sundowner
We wound down the day with a cocktail watching the sunset. No matter the day, you can’t beat a warm Caribbean night with good friends, cocktails and an amazing sunset.
Next we head to Isle des Saintes. Stay tuned for our next update and be sure to check back for our episode on Day 1 – 3. As always, thanks for following our blog! Be sure to follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter @BoatingJourney.
Sea Trial, Survey, Mechanical Inspection & Haul Out
Last Weds, February 20th, Scott and I had the sea trial, survey and mechanical inspection scheduled for the Bayliner 4087 we made an offer on. Seattle has been experiencing record breaking snow levels and conditions this month and once again it threatened to snow on Wednesday! Based on the weather forecast, I was nervous. You know me, when it comes to weather, I’m a nut. The last thing I wanted to do was haul out in the snow! Here’s a picture that our boat yard shared the week before!
We hired Chuck Solarek, of CSW Surveyors and I highly recommend him! Chuck came in with loaded guns. Not only is he SAMS accredited (Society of Marine Surveyors Society), but he has twenty-four years experience as a naval submarine engineer. He had so much equipment with him, that I thought he had other members on his team. In the end, his survey and mechanical inspection was so detailed and thorough, we couldn’t have asked for more.
Let sea trials begin
Scott and I asked my brother-in-law Kurt to join us for the sea trial. He is a retired Washington State Ferry engineer and a life long boater himself. You will recall, he helped us out many times with Kokomo – especially during our trip to the San Juans Islands.
Also along on the trip, was our broker Steve Thoreson, from Union Marine and the captain, who was hired by Elliott Bay Yacht Sales. (certainly different than when Ed the owner of Kokomo took us out!
We all met at the marina around 9:15am and by then Chuck had been on the boat for a bit doing his inspection.
We left Elliott Bay Marina around 9:30am and headed towards Shilshole Marina and Seaview Boat Yard. Low and behold, the weather was perfect! We had calm seas and a slight mist, but that was it!
On our trip to Seaview, we motored at about 11 knots, which was a very pleasant pace. Unlike Kokomo, we could talk and hear each other. However, at this pace, it would take us eight hours to get to the San Juan Islands, versus three on Kokomo. Scott took the helm at the bridge on the way up and I sat down below in the salon. During that time, Along the way, Kurt and Chuck were checking different systems.
Arriving at Seaview Boatyard
If you remember from the last time we hauled out, I was scared to death to climb out of the boat while it was in the slings. Well, this time it was just as bad, if not worse! I still can’t believe this is how they do this!! So unsafe. Each passenger, walks out to the bow, steps over the railing (that’s great if you are tall), reaches for the WET ladder that is about a foot or two away and starts to climb out. Don’t mind that you are 15′ in the air!
I was so worried my foot was going to slip or my hand would lose a grip. My heart was racing when I landed on the pier. I then told everyone, they were picking me up on the dock when we were done! LOL
Hauling out the boat
We had one hour to have Chuck inspect the hull, drives, propellers and trim tabs. Since I won a free power wash at the Seattle Boat Show, I had them power wash the bottom, so we could get a clearer picture of what it looked like.
Remember what Kokomo looked like when we hauled out? Not only did it need to be painted, but all of the zincs were shot! (see below)
Well, shockingly this boat was in perfect shape! (still seems odd to me, since they say the last time they hauled out was in 2014!) So strange, but that’s great news!
Poor Chuck was soaked from inspecting the hull while they pressure washed it!
Time to head back for home & sea trials
An hour and $425 later, it was time to put the boat back in the water.
Remember, I wasn’t going back the same way I came! Watching the guys, they don’t look thrilled either.
We left Seaview boatyard around 11:15am and headed out to Elliott Bay. Once out in the bay, Chuck had Scott run the engines, while he checked them. Remember, these are twin Cummins diesel engines. From our cruising speed of 11 knots/1000 RPMs, Chuck had us increase the RPMs to 1500, then to 2000 and then to wide open at 2500 RPMs. You would never run a semi-displacement boat at that speed, as it’s not only not good for the engines, but you would get terrible fuel consumption. For the best fuel consumption, between 1000-1200 RPMs is ideal.
What we did learn about diesel engines is three primary things:
Never ever run out of gas (remember our story from September?)
When cruising with diesel engines, it is important to run at 80% of your max RPM during your last 20 minutes of cruising. That’s important to remember if you plan on only cruising the bay.
When docking, leave the engines running at idle for about 5 minutes to allow them to cool off. Unlike gas engines, diesel engines cool off while running versus after they shut down.
Once back at the dock, the last thing to check was the infamous tender – did it run? Steve dropped it (sort of) into the water, then Scott climbed into it haphazardly and was able to start it. The running lights work, but maybe not the CD Player. LOL
Survey results?
Well it wouldn’t be a boating journey story if there wasn’t a snag right? Remember when we trying to close on Kokomo and the owner kept going out of town, so it took a month? Let’s hope that’s not the case this time.
Long story short, the survey and inspection came back pretty good. We do have to some work, nothing too major and Lake Union Sea Ray Service Department can do all of the work. Scott and I have accepted the survey and now we wait to go to escrow next week – we hope! Our lender requires our boat be documented with the Coast Guard. We are waiting for the documentation reports to make sure it’s not a stolen boat before we can go to escrow. Guess what? The Coast Guard is a bit back logged due to the government shutdown.
Then we are scheduled to close on Weds, March 6th – but Scott will be in Miami, FL. This title company doesn’t like to use “power of attorney” signatures, so he either needs to find a notary in Miami or be present. So our hope is that we move it to Thursday, March 7th if the Coast Guard docs come back in time – the night we fly out to the Caribbean on our tall ship cruise. If that doesn’t happen, it will have to be postponed until we return, mid-March.
Then what?
Once we take possession, our broker Steve will spend time with both us teaching us how to dock it and back it out of the slip. Everyone says it will be much much easier than our old boat, so let’s hope so. Since we will be taking it to Lake Union Sea Ray for service, we’ll go thru the Ballard Locks with Steve that same day and get some time under our belts (he can dock it at the shop though) 😉
So stay tuned! Our next update will most likely be our trip to the Caribbean and not about the boat! We have some work to do on it, both mechanically and aesthetically and we’ll share all of that with you too, once we are official.
As always, thank you for following our blog! Be sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube @BoatingJourney #boatingjourney
Watch our full sea trial and survey on Episode 29 on our YouTube channel here:
Cheers, Scott and Ally
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