St. Eustatius

This island is a bit off the beaten path and not your typical Caribbean destination.  It is most often called Statia and according to our cruising guide is a “small island with a large history”.

Volcano ahead

As you approach the island you clearly see the Quill in the distance, the volcanic cone that is 1800 feet high.  It last erupted in 400 AD so no worries today. Statia is a Dutch island and Quill comes from  kuil, Dutch for pit or hole.  Hiking to the rim is a popular activity which we did.  From there you can hike around the rim or down into the crater, which we did not.  The trail up was well marked and well maintained, going into the crater is a difficult hike and a guide is suggested; not for the likes of us.

Start of the Quill climb

At the rim of Quill

According to a walking guide published by the St. Eustatius Historical Foundation , the island was first inhabited 2500 years ago.  Archeological studies found the prehistoric people left by the 14th century and the Europeans arrived in 1629.  The first were French but the Dutch soon arrived and began to grow tobacco and later sugar cane.  They expanded the fort and built several hundred warehouses in “Lower Town”, some of which were built on land reclaimed from the sea.  The island’s prosperity and status as a “free port” (British and French levied high duties)  made it a target for foreign occupation.  It apparently changed hands between the Dutch, British and French 22 times over a few centuries.  This explains the importance of forts throughout the Caribbean.

Oranjestad, the only town on Statia, was  a very busy place during the 1700s.  It was the main stopping place for thousands of ships between Europe and the American colonies with a population of over 10,000 people.  It served a pivotal role in slavery and slave trade, the historical museum includes an extensive exhibition of those times.

Today the island is a mixture of African and Dutch cultures and the people are proud and welcoming.  We were very impressed with the cleanliness and beauty.  Many of the historical  buildings are identified and open for touring, ruins have been excavated and restored with some in use today.

While hiking the Quill we met a family who recommended a guided walking tour to us.  We first met their son and a Swiss boy that lives on Statia then came upon Cormac and Kathleen.  They have visited the island several times and gave us some good information.  Since we were only on Statia for a short time we were unable to schedule the tour but picked up the book at the museum and explored on our own.

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Statia is not the island if you’re looking for white sandy beaches, it is apparently a great diving destination.  There are reefs and wrecks of colonial ships along with snorkeling over some of the ruins of Lower Town warehouses.  The guides indicate seahorses and giant octopuses – neither of which we saw.

At Kathleen and Cormac’s recommendation we had dinner at The Blue Bead.  Arriving at the dinghy dock we met another couple and suggested sitting together.  We had a wonderful dinner and enjoyed meeting John and June who were en route to Antigua.

Main sail repairs

While sailing from St. Barth to Statia we had the opportunity to test Jeff’s repair work on the main sail.  With a reefed main and full Genny we were on a beam reach seeing mostly 7 and 8 knots but did see 10 once or twice.  Happy to report the main is looking good.

We really enjoyed our visit to Statia!

~ Jeff and Mary ~