November 25 - Carambola Beach, St. Kitts and Nevis

This has been an absolutely gorgeous day! We are lying off Carambola Beach on the island of St. Kitts.  Seabourn did one of their signature events today – a beach barbecue and caviar in the surf.  They also had all the water toys out, but I didn’t try them this time.

St. Kitts is officially the Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis and it’s a member of the Commonwealth of Nations.  If you guessed that the first Europeans to find these two islands were Columbus and his crew, you would be right. That was in 1493 but the islands weren’t settled until the early 17th century.  The first settlement was British, but during the next century, Britain, France and Spain all fought over St. Kitts and Nevis.  In the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713 France renounced all claims to the islands and the Spanish empire was in decline so they no longer had a stake; thus Britain maintained control.  Just as an added piece of trivia a pretty famous founding father of the United States was born on the island of Nevis.  Can you guess who that was?  I’ll tell you later.

Back to the day.  This morning the ship began tendering loads of things to the Carambola Beach Club.  Seabourn books the club for the day and we are treated to a barbecue and beach day.  There’s a covered pavilion where tables, bars, and buffet lines are set up.  Chefs from the ship come ashore and grill lobsters, ribs, burgers and hot dogs, and of course they also have all the salads and veggies to go with them.  The beach is lined with lounge chairs and umbrellas and caviar and champagne are served in waist deep water right off the beach.  It’s a wonderful, relaxing day for the passengers, but a really busy one for the crew since they have to ferry everything back in the late afternoon.

Carambola from the ship

Look at how clear the water is

I met friends ashore and after lunch we went and floated  in the water for a while.  The water is crystal clear and cool, but not cold, so it was delightful. This year I was a little smarter than I was last time I came.  I think I managed not to burn the front of my legs and tops of my feet as I did last year. I saw some of my fellow passengers who perhaps had too much rum punch or champagne, because they looked a lot like the lobsters coming off the grill. They’ll be sorry tomorrow!

I’m on my veranda now and they are raising the tenders so we’ll be sailing shortly.  Tomorrow we’ll be at our last island, Jost van Dyke in the British Virgin Islands.  This week has flown by.

I know this has been a kind of boring post, but it’s just one of those lazy, sunny days.  Tonight I’m meeting friends for drinks and then we’ll have to figure out where to eat (again). Decisions, decisions.  It’s no wonder cruisers always complain that the sea air shrinks clothing. 

The famous American born in these parts was Alexander Hamilton.  He and his older brother were born out of wedlock to a married half British, half French woman and a Scotsman. He went on to fame in the Revolutionary War and subsequently as an author of some of the Federalist Papers and a Treasury Secretary.