Caribbean Catamaran Cruise - Day 6

After breakfast we pulled anchor and set sail for a tiny island off the coast of Saint-Barthelemy (St. Barths). This was our fourth day on the boat.  Wes took a turn at the wheel.  

It was a particularly windy day.  Great for sailing!  But it also meant pretty big waves.  You can get a sense for how big the waves were in the video below.  You can also see the close proximity of the islands - always within sight of each other.  (I recommend turning down the volume - the sound of the wind is pretty loud.)

Wes discovered the best spot on the boat to be when there are large waves.  Right on the bow!!

While the men were up top with the captain and on the bow - the girls were attempting to play card games at the dining table.  When seasickness threatened to strike we headed on deck.  Elise had already discovered the joy of riding on the bow and finally we all joined her.  It was absolutely exhilarating!  Like an amusement park ride! 

Here is some footage - most of the waves were much bigger than in this video.

We rode this way all the way to Ile Fourchue.  I learned on Wikipedia that this tiny island is actually privately owned and is only inhabited by a few goats. 

Since it was pretty windy which means low visibility for snorkeling - we decided to hike to the highest point on the island - 103 meters above sea level.  I am pleased to say that we all successfully made it to the island from the dinghy this time!  The island is actually pretty barren as you can see below.

I believe the islands in the background are the islands of St. Martin.

We hiked to this cool cairn topped with pieces of white coral.

It was the perfect photo-op...until they accidentally knocked the cairn over!!

The guys rebuilt the cairn and then we used it to take a group photo.

Of course I was fascinated with the lichen.  

Looking back down at the lovely blue lagoon (you can see the VIP ONE off to the far Right).

The hike back down.

We wandered through a small forest just off the beach.  

These lizards were crawling everywhere!  They are about a foot in length.

David met us at the beach to ferry us back to the boat.  After lunch we attempted to go snorkeling but couldn't see anything so we returned to the boat for an afternoon of relaxing, napping, talking and card games.  Dinner was delicious with a yummy dessert of chocolate fondue with pears and ice cream.
David and Alena joined in our dice game that evening!  It was great fun!
Random memories:
-Matt's broken toe
-Emily continued to play the fool being the only one in a life jacket (I gave up looking cool long ago - it's all about safety now!)
-Vanessa scared Elise through the hatch
-Used the washing machine on the boat.  Drying?  Clothespinned everything to the side wires of the boat.  This is how we dried the towels, swimsuits, wetsuits and everything.
- Conversation with David about America.