Ah don know, ah don't know, ah don't know where I'ma gonna go when de volcano blow. Jimmy Buffet
Montserrat is a British Overseas Territory and measures approximately 16 km (9.9 mi) long and 11 km (6.8 mi) wide, with approximately 40 kilometres (25 mi) of coastline. It is nicknamed "The Emerald Isle of the Caribbean" both for its resemblance to coastal Ireland and for the Irish ancestry of some of its inhabitants. Wikipedia
In 1997, Patrice and I chartered our first bareboat out of Guadeloupe. During our boat briefing, the local agent pointed to the nearby island of Montserrat on the chart and said: “dat dere island, she blow again dis year, you don go dere, ok?” OKAY! Can't argue with that.
It was actually in July 1995, that the Soufrière Hills volcano in the south of the island woke up and subsequently buried the island’s capital, airport and docking facilities in mud and ash. The southern part of the island was evacuated and closed. It erupted again in 1997 killing 19 people in a lava flow. Over the next few years, the volcano continue to vent and erupted again in November 2009 and February 2010.
16 years later, we’re back in the area and although the only warning we’ve received is to stay out of the ‘exclusion zone’, the volcano is still smoldering . Little Bay, the new harbor is in the northern part of the island is well out of exclusion zone, so we decided there was no harm in anchoring there for the night, but decided in the end that we would wait a few years before venturing ashore just in case old Soufrière gets in a bad mood again and feels like venting or worse.
16 years later, we’re back in the area and although the only warning we’ve received is to stay out of the ‘exclusion zone’, the volcano is still smoldering . Little Bay, the new harbor is in the northern part of the island is well out of exclusion zone, so we decided there was no harm in anchoring there for the night, but decided in the end that we would wait a few years before venturing ashore just in case old Soufrière gets in a bad mood again and feels like venting or worse.
The next day we sailed down the east coast towards Deshaies, Guadeloupe. As it was a clear day we got a good look at the mud and ash slides clearly visible on this side of the island. Even with Jimmy Buffet’s upbeat song ‘Volcano’ blasting onboard, we were both humbled and awestruck by this visual display and reminder of the destructive force of nature.
Before ending this last narrative of our tour of the islands that 'brush the clouds,' I must share the story of the tiny island of Redonda which we passed on our way to Montserrat with you. If you have time and are in the mood for a crazy story and a good laugh, scroll down and read on.
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