Nevis to Statia

Nevis is a magical place with beautiful sights and great restaurants. Unlike many of the other islands, the nice places are up on hill in an area called Gingerland and the waterfront is pretty much a working place. After we had cleared customs on the way out, we took a quick walk around the town. Things are pretty quiet on a Sunday morning but services were going on in this small church. I walked up and gave the few Eastern Caribbean dollars I had to one of the elders. It was only a few dollars but was more genuinely appreciated than gifts I’ve made that were hundreds of times greater. A good feeling....

Here are a couple pictures at a one of the restored pieces of machinery on the dock.

The way over to Statia was a nice downwind run in 15-20 knots. I’m not necessarily a great believer in signs from the Universe but we were joined by a pod of dolphin about half way across. Coincidence? Or maybe thanks for the gift to the small church?

We arrived in Statia in the later afternoon. Statia is a neat island with a volcanic crater that plunges about 500 feet from the summit of the cone. It has an extensive nature park and, bizarrely, a tank farm. Thus, oil tankers come and go continuously and just around the corner is some of the best diving in the world.

I had a great time snorkeling and then we had a super dinner at the Blue Bead which is an incredible island restaurant. Low key but great food.

This morning we hiked around the small town. Here a few pictures of the neat architecture. Interestingly, one of the earliest synagogues in the Caribbean was here. The remnants are pretty well preserved and, in another of life’s coincidences, it turns out that the Jews from this synagogue left Statia when trade declined and went to ...Rhode Island. There they established the earliest synagogue in the US.

Then it was off to clear customs, always a treat as the rules are different on each island.  Before we left I took this picture of our little boat moored in the harbor and the oil tankers on the horizon.

On to Saba.....