Remote destination of the week- Saba

by Nancy Knudsen on 1 Feb 2009 Tropical breezes wafting around a high volcano that juts from the ocean like a whale leaping, some of the best underwater scenery in the world, an inspiring people who have carved their unique lifestyle from the rich jungle mountainsides. This week's remote sailing destination is all of these.

Whether you would call Saba remote depends on where you live, but it is certainly off the cruising track for most sailors, even those who cruise nearby.

If there's a penalty for experiencing the magic of Saba, it is that the anchorages are slightly uncomfortable sometimes, particularly when there's a swell running. It's advisable to choose a mooring if you can, and then you'll find the delights ashore make up for the discomfort. Saba is acually the top of an extinct volcano, and rises out of the ocean to a peak of 940 metres, so the adventures ashore include much walking and trekking.

Until fairly recently, the interior of Saba was completely inaccessible, and the locals had to travel by boat to reach each of the small settlements – there are four – that dot the island. As well as Fort Bay, there are villages engagingly called Bottom, Windwardside and Hell's Gate. While it was considered impossible to build a road on the steep incline by civil engineering experts called in to advise, the islanders proved them wrong by doing it themselves. That's the spirit you find on Saba, and you'll enjoy traversing the amazing road which was completed before 1960.

The villages are lazy, picturesque and never endingly friendly. There are a couple of well protected anchorages, Well's Bay and Ladder Bay on the west coast, where you can visit after you have completed clearance procedures in Fort Bay. The islanders of Saba love their island, and want to protect it. All the waters surrounding waters were made a national marine park in 1987 and anchoring is restricted to sandy areas where the coral will not be damaged. Spearfishermen and those who want to take any kind of marine life are not encouraged, and there are marine officers who patrol to protect the seas and and sealife.

Inland, even without the good help of the 1000 or so locals that live on the island, it's not hard to explore. Mountain trails and walks are pretty well marked. It's an easy hike over and into Saba's rain forest, with tidepools and historic ruins enrichening the passage. Even a walk along Saba's winding road will lead you along amazing views. The height of Saba's volcano means that the island has a local weather system, and you will often find the top of the volcano swathed in misty cloud. If you want to venture remotely a guide can be taken, and you will all the more appreciate the botanical and historical parts of Saba.

Not only is this island renowned as the best in the Caribbean for diving, and maybe the best for walking and trekking, there's also the unique Saba lace to drool over, or maybe buy. The story of Saba lace is a captivating one.

In the 1870's, Mary Gertrude Hassell Johnson was sent by her parents to study at a convent in Caracas, Venezuela. While she was there, the nuns taught Miss Hassell to create the intricate designs of this needlecraft. Miss Hassell brought the craft back to Saba and in 1884, when regular mail service first connected the island to the outside world, the wives and daughters of Saba's seafaring men turned the craft into a mail-order cottage industry.

How the Saba women marketed their needlework demonstrates their ingenuity. As boxes of merchandise were sent from the United States to Saba, the ladies would copy the addresses of the American companies and then write them a letter explaining their work and the prices. Often a sympathetic person receiving the letter would post it on the company bulletin board and ultimately the lace makers would receive orders for their work. By 1928, the Sabans were exporting almost $15,000 worth of needlework annually!

Now, more than a century later, the skill learned by many a young Saban girl still provides a means of support for many families on the island. Blouses, dresses, tablecloths an napkins are only a few of the pieces the Saban women create in a variety of colors.

It's always warm in Saba, and the temperature from winter to summer hardly varies, but it's never unpleasant, as you are always cooled by the constant trade winds. The time to experience Saba is between December and May, out of the cyclone season.

For more information about this captivating island, go to the island's Website.