Monkey Business in Nevis

Nevis and St. Kitts are two islands that comprise one nation, only a few miles apart.  We were sad to leave St. Kitts, but more islands beckoned!  After a delightful 10 mile sail, we picked up a mooring off Charlestown and got ready for a night on the town.  NOT, said Mr. Yamaha.  Uggh, not again.  As we now know, the beating on the rocks caused more fuel contamination than just water.  Monkeying around with our trusty Yamaha led to an Olympic medal in Carburetor rebuilding.  We can’t blame Yamaha, as the engine runs perfectly every time we clean the carburetor!

We did have a spectacular day in Nevis after our Yamaha lessons were complete.  A brief tour, lunch at Golden Rock, and Craig hiked to “The Source”, a river high up in the rain forest that supplies delicious water for the islanders.  Check out this video from high up in the mountain...yes, the camera was recording sound.

Golden Rock is a gorgeous hotel/restaurant in the hills.

Golden Rock

While Craig was hiking, Kevin happened across the real Monkey Business, a fabulous encounter with a giant Mango tree full of wild monkeys.  Have fun playing “Where’s Waldo” with Kevin’s monkey photos.

Where's Waldo?  We promise there are
monkeys! Click to enlarge and have fun!

More monkeys!

There are several monkeys in this huge mango tree.  

The pool at Golden Rock.  Gorgeous!

Our last evening in Nevis was a blast.  We pulled dinghy up on the beach at Sunshine's, secured the dinghy to the volleyball net pole, and enjoyed a spectacular meal served up by Sunshine himself.  In addition to the fresh tuna, lobster and tasty organic arugula salad, Kevin enjoyed "the best BBQ ribs of his life".  Partying with other islanders and cruisers in Qualie Bay continued until the wee hours, when we valiantly relieved dinghy from the volleyball pole and and transported ourselves the final couple of hundred yards in a state acceptable to neither the New York Thruway police nor the Texas Rangers.

Dinghy and The Universe Conspiring Yet Again

We were actually planning to stay one more night in Nevis, and even made reservations for a fancy dinner at Banana's.  Alas, it wasn't meant to be.  Ms. Carburetor struck once again, and refused to take us to dinner.  The Universe works in mysterious ways, as hours earlier we had checked the weather forecast for our Easterly voyage to Antigua, to be attempted only in good weather conditions.  Lo and behold, that night was perfect.  "Why don't we skip dinner and just head to Antigua tonight?" said Kevin, and two hours later we were stowed and on our way, departing at exactly midnight in ideal weather conditions.  Seven very easy hours later, we had traversed the more than 50 miles against the wind and waves, and were welcomed into Jolly Harbour, Antigua.