Table of Contents
Preface xiii
Introduction 1
Pinch Yourself 1
Columbus and Me 1
Hitting the Harmonic Beat 2
The Enchanted Chain 5
Into the Virgins 8
Leewards and Windwards 10
A Simple Passage Plan 14
1 Coming to Terms 17
What Is This Place They Call the Caribbean? 17
The Three Regions of the Caribbean Chain 19
When the Music of the Empires Stopped 23
2 The Secret to Your Simple Passage Plan 29
Knocking on Aries's Door 29
Prime Is a Small Number 32
The Passagemaking Logic of the Virgins 36
Pilot Books 37
Sea Charts-Fine Food for Joshua's Goat 40
A Plot Full, of Roses-Those Amazing Pilot Charts 42
Navigation Techniques-GPS Is Better Than a Hungry Pig 42
Taking Comfort from Others-Those Daring Bareboat Charterers 46
Surprise, Surprise-Sunset, Sunrise 47
Staying Put Is No Fluke-Good Ground Tackle 49
3 The Sea That Flows 55
The Caribbean Current 56
What a Swell Ocean This Is 58
The Mystery of Tides 61
A Lunar Solution 63
A Twist in the Tale 64
4 The Wind That Blows 67
Constant Like the Trade Winds 69
The Intertropical Convergence Zone-the Doldrums 70
Santa's Clause-the Christmas Winds 72
Summer Waves 74
Out through a Window 75
Local Factors Affecting Winds 77
Tropical Squalls 80
Well, Just Listen to That-Weather Forecasts 82
Hurricanes-Something Significant in the Weather 90
Better to Be Hit by a Simulation 96
Thank You, Buys Ballot 99
In a Hurricane Hole and Digging 101
Names to Remember 114
Testing the Predictions 118
A Breath of a Boy and His Shy Little Sister 121
Extreme Weather 122
Take to the Hills 127
Picture This-a Reading List for Weather Forecasting 128
5 The Land That Glows 129
A Time of Two Halves 131
From the Gates of Hell-the Day St. Pierre Died 131
Still Too Hot to Handle 133
Don't Kick-'em-Jenny 137
Kick-'em-Jack 140
Drive-In Volcano 140
6 A People to Know 141
Separated by a Common Language 142
Sugar and Spice-No Basis for an Economy 144
Giving Back-Community Relations 150
The Good, the Bad, and the Boat Boys 151
7 Island Passages 155
Sharp Points of Perspective 155
Bouncing Checks on the Banks 156
Road Map of the Ups and Downs 157
Easy Days among the Virgins 158
Go with Ease 160
The Long Good-Bye 163
Howdy Partner 167
Good Form Everywhere 169
E-clearance 170
Times of Change 174
8 Tips to Easier Passages 177
Going South through the Chain 177
Going North through the Chain 200
9 Island Guides 217
St. Thomas 218
St. John 220
Tortola 222
Virgin Gorda 225
Jost Van Dyke 227
Minor Islands of the BVI 229
St. Martin/Sint Maarten 229
St. Barts/Saint-Barthélemy 234
Statia/Sint Eustatius 237
St. Christopher and Nevis 239
Antigua and Barbuda 246
Guadeloupe 251
The Saintes/Iles des Saintes 256
Dominica 258
Martinique 263
St. Lucia 268
St. Vincent and the Grenadines 273
Grenada 291
Trinidad and Tobago 303
Another Point of Perspective-Comparative Costs of Living 324
10 Islands Off the List 327
St. Croix 327
Anegada 327
Anguilla 328
Saba 328
Montserrat-Paradise Postponed 329
Barbuda 330
Marie-Galante and La Désirade 331
Barbados 332
11 Staying in Touch 333
VHF Radio Nets-a Treasure from the Bilge 333
SSB-a Fine Net to be Caught In 334
Coffee and Cookies-Finger-Licking E-mail Cafés 335
Sailing Newspapers 336
Security-Lock It or Lose It 337
Wyatt Earp and Doc Holiday-Not OK in This Corral 345
12 Health and Hazards 349
Dehydration 349
Sunburn 350
Mosquitoes and Dengue Fever 350
Sand Flies 352
Snakes and Other Biters 352
Don't Bite the Bad Apple-Manchineel Trees 353
So That's Gravity-Falling Nuts 354
Poisoned Fish-Don't Smoke the Ciguatera 354
Fish Are Biting 355
Jolly Jellyfish 356
Lionfish 356
Coral Scratches 356
Cockroaches and Their Friends 357
Hospitals and Health Centers 357
13 Entertainment 359
Stretching Your Legs-Best Walks 359
Diving 360
Rowing 361
Don't Break the Bank-Taking Care of Coral 361
Whale of a Time 362
Turning Turtle 364
14 In Your Own Wake 367
Staying On 367
Hauling Out 368
Fitting Out for the Tropics 370
Shopping and Sailing 373
Ventilation 375
Sun Protection 376
Personal Care 377
Electricity Generation 377
Clean Diesel 378
Outboards and Dinghies 379
Life Rafts 379
The Aft Gantry 380
Not Hoist by Your Own Petard 380
Epilogue 383
Appendix A Glossary of Local Terms 385
Appendix B Measures of Wind Strengths 387
Index 391
