St. Kitts: The Mother Colony of the West Indies

Knowing we had a short sail over to the island of St. Kitts from Nevis (about 7 nm), we decided to sleep in and have a nice breakfast before raising the Jib and heading west. The winds were 10-15 directly behind us so the jib alone carried us across the Narrows and around the southwest side of the island.  We opted for the quieter anchorage at White House Bay. We could easily see the island as we departed our Nevis mooring ball, but as we got closer we were greeted with some breathtaking quiet landscapes rising up out of the turquoise blue waters. 

Approaching St. Kitts

We had two main options for anchoring, Basseterre Bay and Whitehouse Bay. Basseterre Bay is probably the more popular due to its easy location to the bustling capital and ferry terminal of island. It being the oldest town in the Caribbean, it has a lot to offer for sightseeing and therefore, it has quite the draw.  We figured we may have to end up here to check out regardless, so opted to spend a night or two further south in fairly protected (from N-SE) White House Bay first. There is much less infrastructure on the southern end of the island. 

White House Bay

We encountered lots of rocks and sea grass when lowering the anchor, but found a comfortable spot in about 5-6m of water. A great place for watching sunset, especially if you are looking for the elusive green flash. We saw it twice!

A little History 

The Kalinago, the pre-European inhabitants of Saint Kitts, called the island Liamuiga, roughly translated it meant ‘fertile land’. Christopher Columbus was believed to the first European visitor to the island in 1492. From then most documentation refers to it as San Cristóbal. The later English colonists kept the English translation of St. Christophers Island. In the 17th Century, Kit(t) was a popular nickname for ‘Christopher’, so the island was for a long time informally known as Saint Kitt’s Island. the country earned the nickname as ‘The Mother colony of the West Indies’ since it was the first English colony in the Caribbean.  The twin island paradise of the West of the Lesser Antilles, Saint Kitts and Nevis,  received their full independence after a few go arounds in 1983. The constitution actually refers to the island as both Saint Christopher and Saint Kitts.

Checking In

Since we checked in at Nevis, St. Kitts sister island. No need to check in here! But we will have to check out. Most people check in at the Cruise/ferry terminal at Port Zante.

Other Notables: 

Airport: Robert L. Bradshaw International Airport.

Cash Money: Eastern Caribbean dollar (XCD) though USDs are widely accepted.  Just expect XCD in in change and via ATMs (when they work).  

Official Language: English, though you will also here a bit of the St. Kitts Creole on occasion.

The Highlights

A neighbor dinghied over from his Catalina 42 and introduced himself.  And so we met Buddy.  He is a staple here in White House Bay. He is a military veteran who moved from South Carolina to St. Kitts well over a decade ago and stayed put.  He was a wealth of knowledge and info on St. Kitts and islands in general and just an avid storyteller! I started just referring to him as “The Mayor”. He knew everyone and their backstories around town! He also had some great recommendations for food and drink.

Shipwreck Beach Bar

On Buddy’s recommendation,We took the dinghy 2 miles up the coast and creatively  cleared a shallow reef and anchored our dinghy among the rocks along the shoreline just off the bar decks for a cocktail or two. It was an entertaining and lively locals bar. While it wasn’t crowded when we showed up, if you have to wait for a table or are bored, there are some very energetic monkeys hanging around the trees in the parking lot. We ended up coming back here on our way home from checking out of Basseterre with Buddy and it was a crowded bar Friday night! 

At Shipwrecks

Reggae Beach Bar & Grill

A short 10 minute drive south on the island from the anchorage is this popular entertaining joint. Live music was playing and the tourists were rolling in via rental cars, cabs and cruise shuttles.  Clearly a ‘must stop’ on the St. Kitts cruise ship itinerary. It had both indoor and outdoor seating areas and a large gift shop. The food was good, the service standard for island time. 

Reggae Beach Bar

Snorkeling Fun

There were a bit more action under the boat here due to the rocks and seagrass covering the bay floor.  A bit more sea life to chase around as well as a small shipwreck that you can find behind a large pile of rocks that peaks out of the water in the southern part of the bay. At only 2-3 meters under the surface it was very easy to snorkel. There is also a it of reef around the rock formations, though sadly mostly dying off. 

Generator Troubles 

We have had a salt water leak in the “garage” (our locker containing the giant 20 kw marine generator) pretty much since we got the boat. You’ve probably seen Kevin bailing it out in one of our YouTube videos at least once. Everything was contained so there was no really damage being done.  But generator cooling pump seals are definitely on their last legs.  And considering how important this generator is to keeping us moving at times, we needed to rectify the problem soon rather than later.  Thankfully, we had found a chandlery in Saint Maartin, the next island over that had just what we needed.  

Checking Out

We thought we would have to move the boat over to Basseterre for the customs and immigration office as our anchorage was a 30 min drive ($80 USD cab ride) over a very large hill (which would turn to to be unnervingly curvy and steep at night). However, our new friend Buddy was more than willing to drive us in to the Customs and Immigration building to help us out and we offered to buy him dinner in town for the assist!

Our new friend Buddy!

Going ashore there was a small dock that was attached to what looked like a large lounging deck attached to what used to be a beach bar (closed since Covid, unknown if it ever reopened. Bummer. Because it looked like a fun time. The bar itself doesn’t look like it had been opened for awhile. Word was it’s really only for locals to use, but our new friend mentioned we would be fine tying up there for a few hours. 

We arrived at Port Zante just after the day’s cruise ship had just left. Thank goodness. It would have been a MADHOUSE in the small ferry terminal area otherwise.  We got there about 30 min prior to closing so while not thrilled to see us walk in, they quickly assisted us with the paperwork for our departure the following day. 

Indian Summer

Once we were done with check out, we wondered around the cruise/ferry dock where you could find all manner of tourist wares and entertainment. This place must be nuts when the big cruise ships roll in. After we had our visual overstimulation fill, Buddy drove us into the the water front area of Basseterre so we could get a good dinner. His first choice was slammed it being early evening on a Friday night so we walked a bit down the road and got enticed by the amazing aromas coming out of an upstairs restaurant by the name of Indian Summer

It had a very colorful indoor and outdoor seating area. It was also crowded on Friday night but we were able to snag a table inside.  The food was very good if not a bit pricey and the service island time slow. I would recommend if you have a hankering for Indian while on the island.  I might have eaten my weight in their garlic Naan. 

Colorful inside
Garlic Naan

The conversations with Buddy were reminiscent of our service. He was retired Air F Force B-52 pilot. Three aviators at a table with beer…the salty stories shared in earnest.  And I can say..he’s seen some serious action! I was riveted. 

Back at the boat after a long day, we crashed out hard.  Which was good, it was not an easy sail the following day to the multi-national island of Sint Maartin or Saint-Martin, depending if you are Dutch or French respectively.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *