Helping out in Haiti

Perhaps our most harrowing encounter in Haiti was also our most uplifting.  Through the yacht cruising community we’d heard about an orphanage on the island of Ile a Vache and so set off to find it with several bags of clothes, shoes, toiletries and medical supplies.  Most of these we’d been collecting for some time.  They were initially bound for neighbouring Cuba however during our time there we realised that communist Cubans under the Castro regime are surprisingly well off and certainly had no need for our cast offs.

L’Oeuvre St Francois D’Assises (Orphanage of St Francis of Assisi) is run by diminutive French Canadian nun Sister Flora Blanchette.  This humble and unassuming woman saw the incredible hardship and suffering in Haiti when she visited 30 years ago, felt compelled to help and opened a clinic on the island of Ile a Vache.  In time, with donations, she was able to open an orphanage to take in neglected and abandoned children and orphans.   We had no idea exactly where the orphanage was but needn’t have worried.  At the mere mention of the words ”Sister Flora”, helpful villagers pointed the way and even escorted us which spoke volumes of how well known and loved this tiny nun is.  We’d heard that Sister Flora refuses to turn any child away and therefore many of the 73 people under her compassionate care are severely handicapped.  Her orphanage is rare in Haiti in accepting the handicapped. We weren’t quite prepared for the gruelling sight of children – some as young as a few months – lying on mattresses, unable to move and others sitting in wheelchairs with heart wrenching deformities and conditions.  Despite their ghastly situation, many wore wide smiles and were thrilled to see visitors.


Sister Flora only speaks French and Creole but Calix Huguette was a fantastic translator.  Calix arrived at the orphanage as a two day old orphan and, apart from time studying at university on the mainland, has never left.  She now works alongside Sister Flora as an administrator.  We learned that the orphanage receives no government funding hence the continual need for food, clothing and cash donations.  
          

We got back to Bandit feeling that surely we could do more to help but first priority was dealing with the constant stream of locals wanting work.  After much deliberation we agreed to give work to a handful. The next day the allocated three boys arrived, with a few hangers on, so by mid morning Bandit had six willing workers cleaning the hull, polishing stainless steel and wiping the salt off the hatches and windows.  Sadly, the message didn’t get through that we had enough workers and the boys kept coming out.  It was incredibly difficult to say no so skipper kept finding more jobs- most of them unnecessary!  Have to say though, Bandit gleamed.

Then there were the sad pleas from the needy - “My mother is hungry, she needs food.”  It was impossible to know how best to help so after much soul searching between ourselves and discussion with locals we decided to take Bandit to the mainland and buy bags of rice, beans and cooking oil, all of which appeared to be in short supply, to be distributed in the village.  This was a mission in itself. We took along two of our workers Colby and Pepe, leaving Colby on Bandit as a guard and taking Pepe to the market as a guide and negotiator.  Rice, beans and oil bought, next problem - how to get 100kgs of food back to Bandit?  No taxis here but the bags fitted on the back of one motorbike and David, Pepe and the driver on another.

Back in Ile a Vache, Pepe made a list of the 30 most deserving families and, at an appointed time, they came carrying various containers – one woman even put the rice in her skirt!  It was a humbling experience and, while we wanted to be there to ensure the distribution was fair, we ended up leaving feeling too intrusive.  Not before David thanked the locals for welcoming us so warmly to Ile a Vache and said he hoped our small contribution may have helped.

During our summer in the US we scoured second hand marine shops for old sails and at Sailor’s Exchange in St Augustine persuaded the owner to donate one to the cause.  We’d heard the fishermen use any material they can get their hands on for sails and some of those we saw were definitely rough- black polythene was common.

David also dug out various lengths of rope for needy fishermen as much of what we saw was no better than dental floss. Once again it was a humbling experience to see grown men very emotional with such gifts.   The distribution was done through Sam Altema (second from right in the photo) who is the Seven Seas Cruising Association rep for Ile a Vache and also runs a shop there.   We weren’t entirely convinced about Sam’s allocation as he kept the best (and longest) piece of rope for his father.  His father may well have been deserving but it would have been nice to meet him and see for ourselves.  Hopefully the sail will be shared fairly.

We had kept one bag of rice to take to the orphanage so returned with it.  Sadly we couldn’t find any of the precious milk powder Sister Flora is so desperately in need of so we gave her a bundle of cash - a small gesture, but hopefully one that may help.  As we were leaving the orphanage we were engulfed by a group of happy “normal” children – who had just finished school.  They were incredibly polite and friendly and intrigued with their “white” visitors.  My sunglasses and floppy hat went down a treat and we spent precious time just enjoying these happy, smiley children.  It made us realise that not all the children in the orphanage have desperate futures – some, like these below, will hopefully have a chance. 

Buzzing through the Bahamas

Our original plan was to blitz through the Bahamas fairly quickly.  Bandit’s 2.1m draft means much of the Bahamas are out of bounds for us.  We were also very keen to keep moving south to meet our target of being in the San Blas Islands, near Panama, in early January.   But, once again, the weather dictated otherwise and we ended up spending a frustrating time sitting out bad weather. Sadly we couldn’t get to some of the places we’d hoped – such as Staniel Cay and Conception Island – due to the wind, swells and narrow channel entrances.

We left West Palm Beach in Florida on Nov 17with a brisk easterly blowing, bashing our way down the coast until it died, as forecast.  Then we tacked over and motored across the dreaded Gulf Stream and all the way to the Berry Islands in the Bahamas.  Just before anchoring we caught a good sized mahi-mahi - fresh fish for dinner!  We spent the first few days in the beautiful Berry Islands relaxing and enjoying our new toys with one day absolutely still, hot and gorgeous.  But then came the wind……and lots of it.

From here things went rapidly downhill.  The plan was to sail overnight to Eluthera but at our 7pm departure time the wind was blowing 17 knots on the nose.   Not the wisest conditions to set out in, especially with a difficult channel exit, so we opted for a 5am start next day.  Problem was the wind only increased during the night to a solid 20knots but we had to go.  We had a good moon and our GPS track to guide us out and then faced a wet and miserable bash to windward with a lumpy Atlantic swell making things very uncomfortable.  As usual, Bandit took it all in her stride and got us there safely if tired and hungry.  Next day we headed off for an overnight to Georgetown and, proving the vagaries of sailing, we had the best sail with 15 knots on the beam in flat seas and a magical starry night to cap it off.

                

Georgetown proved a safe and secure spot for the predicted  winds and we spent a few days enjoying the gorgeous anchorage off Stocking Island.  Our one trip over to Georgetown resulted in glum faces all round.  With three people on board our tender does not plane and with choppy seas we all got absolutely drenched.  Georgetown itself was pretty shabby but we did find a Laundromat, free wifi and fresh papaya and bananas to top up dwindling fruit supplies.  Luckily, the ride back was not quite as wet but I did get a grilling from the crew for not agreeing to a water taxi in and back.

Finally, with good winds forecast we set off for Rum Cay, an island fellow cruisers had rated highly.  Our arrival did not bode well; as we entered the reef a huge squall approached forcing us to get sails down in record time.  The winds came with torrential rain – which at least cleaned Bandit and filled our water tanks…but drenched us. 

We were the only boat in the anchorage and an expedition ashore proved fruitless.  The one shop was closed, the handful of locals were outnumbered by dogs and there was a distinct feeling of neglect.  Rum Cay was hit by Hurricane Sandy and was clearly showing its effects.  Fellow cruisers had enjoyed the hospitality of locals here with mass barbecues but there was no one around to welcome us. We were obviously too early in the season for anything to be open

                     

Amazingly, we could pick up a strong wifi signal on Bandit…so at least we managed to connect with the outside world, update weather forecasts and even skype.   We decided against stopping at any other Bahamian Islands as it was obviously too early in the season and with good winds forecast we voted to get south while we could.  After a solid night’s sleep we headed out for a three day/night passage to Ile a Vache in Haiti.

Final fling in Florida

Sailors are always at the mercy of the seas and, for the past few weeks, Bandit and her crew have been sitting in various US ports waiting for weather windows.   They have been few and far between as persistent cold fronts have hit the US east coast.  The Salty Dawg Rally – from Hampton in Chesapeake Bay to the British Virgin Islands- was hammered by a really nasty system which saw two yachts dismasted, five lose their rudders and one break up and crew  airlifted off. We listened anxiously on SSB radio for news of our friends Andy, Clare and Debbie on Eye Candy who were participating in the rally.   Luckily they had the foresight to leave a day earlier to get better conditions and, while they said things were very uncomfortable, they came through unscathed.  We had a rough sail from Charleston to Fernandina Beach but it hardly seems worth mentioning – 30 knots of wind and lumpy seas pale in comparison to what those guys out in the Gulf Stream got.

David’s daughter Anna flew into Jacksonville on a wet and miserable night but the Florida weather cleared the next day. We’d hired a car to pick her up from the airport so used it to provision – again.   Bandit is loaded to the gunwales for her Pacific crossing!  Then it was a short day hop down the coast to St Augustine to sit out yet another blow.  The entry through the bar can be tricky and on our approach we heard a distress call on VHF for a yacht we could clearly see aground.  Not what you want to see navigating a difficult entrance so we had a cup of tea and waited for a local boat to follow in!

Founded in 1565 by the Spanish, St Augustine is America’s oldest city and its cobbled streets are lined with historic buildings.   Henry Flagler brought his railroad here in the late 1880s, creating a boom, and built the exclusive winter resort Hotel Ponce de Leon, which is today a college.  Nearby is the equally magnificent building housing the Lightner Museum, once also a luxury hotel.  It happened to be pirate festival the weekend we were there and there were plenty of Jack Sparrow lookalikes swaggering through the streets and some re-enactments out on the water.

 

             

Visiting St Augustine gave us a chance to catch up with fellow cruisers Pete and Kourtney off Norna.  We first heard them on our SSB net crossing the Atlantic and met them in the Caribbean.  An intriguing couple, they bought their wonderful wooden old boat for $10 as a derelict, spent years doing it up and then sailed across the Atlantic to the Mediterranean and, when the money ran out, turned around and came back.  They’re now based in St Augustine working and saving up enough to sail into the Pacific. 

Once we got a good weather window we set out for the overnight passage to West Palm Beach to wait yet again for the right conditions to cross the dreaded Gulf Stream to the Bahamas.  Despite its exotic name, West Palm Beach did not live up to expectations.  There were some stunning waterfront mansions and ritzy malls full of perma tanned, designer clad, nipped and tucked beautiful people but the anchorage was pretty average and miles from the main towns.  To get anywhere we had to take the local bus.  We’ve come to learn that in the States it’s only “losers and cruisers” who use public transport. 

Our plan to have David’s birthday in the sunny Bahamas was scuttled by weather but we celebrated in fine style with a champagne brunch on Bandit and dinner out with cruising buddies Pete and Carol from Jack Tar.  It was a fairly quiet night though as weather guru Chris Parker had predicted good weather for the next day so we hit the sack early in preparation for a crack of dawn start.  

We woke to a little more wind than we expected but with it forecast to die later in the day we opted to set off.  Our six months on the east coast of the States has been amazing.  We’ve been to some fantastic places, met some wonderful people and, up until recently, have had good weather and great sailing.  We’re leaving with vivid memories, the highlights being taking Bandit to Washington DC and New York city, sailing to gorgeous Nantucket and visiting the historic city of Charleston.  Now we’re looking forward to getting back to the Caribbean and into reliable trade wind sailing.