We made our way from Antigua to Nevis (Nee-vuhs) on a day when the wind and waves were 12-15 knots, quartering on a broad reach, and allowing us to sail most of the 7.5-hour trip. It was a bit rolly, but it was nice to have the sails flying and keeping us cruising along at 6.5-7.5 knots.
(a type of seaweed or algae)
We arrived at the Pinney Beach anchorage near Charlestown, along the southwest coast of Nevis around 5:30pm. We learned that the customs office was closed for the weekend, so we flew our yellow Q-flag until Monday morning when we could go to port and clear in.
Over the weekend, we met Jason and Rochelle who were on their beautiful 57-foot Nordhavn yacht called Alliance. They arrived shortly after us and tried to hail the port authority to let them know of their arrival. When they received no answer, I responded to Rochelle’s VHF call and informed her that the customs office was closed until Monday. This brought about a friendship between our two boats.
Our friends Ken and Lynn on their 57-foot Hylas also joined us in Nevis over the weekend. It was great to have the six of us together to tour the island for a couple of days.
Nevis is so green, lush, and tropical
Come Monday morning, it was time to check into customs. Jason and Rochelle picked up Kory, me, Ken, and Lynn, and we all went into Charlestown, the capital of Nevis, to find the port authority office.
Checking into customs in Nevis wasn’t difficult, but it was a time-consuming and fee-inducing process. We had to go to the custom’s office first where we paid a nominal entry fee. Then we went to the port authority office where we paid nightly fees for mooring or anchoring in their waters, determined by the length of the vessel. These fees aren’t terribly expensive, but they do add up when you stay a while. Then we went next door to the immigration office where they checked our passports and pronounced us valid to stay in their country for 17 days, as we had requested. The good news is that once we checked into Nevis, we could freely travel to St. Kitts without having to check in there as well. And those checking into St. Kitts (at Basseterre) are free to travel to Nevis without having to go through custom again.
We probably wouldn’t have stayed in Nevis/St. Kitts for more than a week, but we had a friend flying into St. Kitts, and we wanted to make sure we got to the island in plenty of time to pick him up. One of the challenging things about sailing is being bound by the weather and sea state. Since we knew our friend was flying into St. Kitts, we needed to take advantage of the first good weather window we had to get there. That meant arriving at the island earlier than needed; but that’s better than being stuck on another island and missing our friend.
There were bonuses to arriving before our guest. We were able to scout out the islands in advance to determine the best things to do with our friend. We were also able to provision, cook, clean the boat, and leisurely enjoy the beauty, activities, and culture of this new place together without having to rush.
It turns out, we really love the charming little island of Nevis! We look forward to sharing it with you next!