Sailing from BVI's back to St Maarten

On Monday the time had come for us to sail back to St Maarten to get our spinnaker pole sorted. We planned for a 12 to 13 hour sail so decided to leave the BVI's at 1pm and sail through the night for an early morning arrival in Simpson Bay Lagoon. Well that was the plan but it didn't end up being an easy sail at all for us. There are probably many experienced sailors who wouldn't have found the trip challenging but as a second night sail for us on Faraway we really did have our moments of concern. There were also a lot of things we could have done differently in hindsight but once committed we had to stick with the plan. In the morning I wanted to get another dive in so we headed over to the coral gardens on Great Dog Island. The weather and visibility wasn't the best so we didn't stay down for a long dive. After packing our equipment we called into Spanish Town to clear customs. We secured the dinghy on board and prepared lunch and what we thought we would need for the sail. We knew the swell and wind were slightly against us but manageable. We motored north of Gorda Sound and south of Necker Island which looked very tranquil. As we got out into the passage the swell almost doubled and Faraway crashed and lurched through the waves. Hmm 12 hours of this probably wasn't going to be pleasant and it isn't a good sign when there are no other yachts on the water heading in either direction (note for future reference). Due to our commitment in St. Maarten we decided to press on with the discomfort. Faraway was on a 35 degree lean as we let the sails out. I clipped my lifejacket on in the cockpit so I couldn't fall out or be thrown out. We soon realised things weren't going to get any better only worse. We watched a beautiful sunset and I was just getting relaxed when I saw an object fly past Ian's head, hit the spreaders and splat onto the deck. It was a flying fish that luckily just managed to slip off the deck back into the water. Ian at that point decided that it was way too bumpy below to cook dinner so we decided to share a packet of Pringles chips. Not the most balanced meal but it kept our energy going. Excitement and dinner over I settled for a roller coaster ride style snooze while Ian took watch. At 7pm in total darkness there was a very loud and close engine noise. We both panicked and scanned the radar for a ship we had missed and wondered what we were about to collide with when all of a sudden we were flashed with a bright white light above the mast. We looked into the night and could see the red tail light of a helicopter disappearing over us at an extremely low level. The coastguard must have tracked us on their radar as part of a surveillance mission we thought but more was to be revealed later. We pressed on sharing the watch and trimming the sails as needed. The moon didn't come out until around 11:30am but when it did the sea was beautifully illuminated. We spotted a few cruise ships on the radar that were close but clearing us. It soon became obvious that we couldn't sail directly to St. Maarten so we set a course for the island of Saba with a plan to tack back up to St. Maarten. We only went below for nature calls and to stop anything that had become loose during the rolling and bashing of the hull against the waves. We both had to go below to change our clothes when a freak wave came right over the canopy and flooded the cockpit. At 1am Saba was in sight and we altered the sails for our course to St. Maarten. All of a sudden Faraway lurched with the new course and change of wind and swell direction and the auto pilot switched off. All the electronic instruments failed and we couldn't steer a course. Saba was on our starboard then our stern then our port and we were going in circles. The bilge alarms below screamed as the water intake increased and we had a moment of panic. Luckily Ian just focused on the magnetic compass and corrected our course back to the original heading. We stayed on that heading for another hour until we gained control again. As the sun started to rise we could see St. Maarten in the distance and a rain shower ahead. We got a free boat wash courtesy of the rain and a beautiful double rainbow to welcome our arrival. A booby bird guided us into Simpson Bay and it was all very tranquil after our night out at sea. I took a photo of the saloon after the trip to show what happens to items that aren't stowed away properly. It was 8am and we had to anchor in the bay to get the dinghy off the deck and prepare Faraway to enter the Dutch Bridge at 9:30am so we could berth at the marina. While we were arranging ropes and dreaming of a shower and a cup of tea I noticed a customs vessel approaching our boat with 3 officers on board. They started taking photos and I kind of thought to myself in my sleep deprived haze which was my best side for the shot! They asked to board and inspect the boat and see our registration documents and passports. One officer asked to go downstairs so we warned him it was a real mess from the bumpy crossing. He took one look and came bounding back upstairs again eager to escape the chaos below deck (see second photo). Luckily they were very nice about the visit. When we mentioned the helicopter incident earlier that evening the officer said they were searching for a particular vessel and not to worry. However as they got off the boat they took more photos which was all a bit strange. We managed to make the 9:30am bridge and berthed Faraway safely. After collapsing for a few hours sleep we got on with our day and met up with the rigging guy to discuss our plan for the spinnaker pole fitting. It looks like we will be sailing south on Wednesday to St. Kitts, Saba and Antigua then coming back in a week or so to St. Maarten for the spinnaker pole fitting. We had a good nights sleep but noticed in the morning that our bodies ached in places that they hadn't before from being bounced around in the cockpit. I guess it is an experience that you just need to get used to.