Port Zante is set up similar to ports and marinas on the East Coast of the US.
The docks are only fingers - just enough to step off a boat - attached to a cement wall . The boat is secured by tying the bow to cleats on the cement wall and by tying two stern lines to pilings located several feet from the dock fingers. A picture shows it best.
Port Zante - St. Kitts
In order to dock there are several things that must happen. Your approach must be dead on, you must first clear the pilings but be close enough to lasso at least one if not both as you pass them and you must judge your speed and distance so that you stop just short of the cement wall but close enough to the finger that the person with the dock line can get off the boat.
Generally there are 2 to 3 people on the dock to guide you in and give you help as you are docking . On the afternoon we arrived in Port Zante there wasn’t a soul in site, so we were on our own…..
Let’s just say that The First Mates docking job was less a than ‘Admirable Landing’.
None of the above happened. I ‘wanged’ the cement wall as I hadn’t managed to judge the speed. I was too far from the finger which meant Bob had to jump off the bow and hope he landed on either the wall or the finger and not in the water and at the same time he had to try and stop the boat!
Once we got the boat stopped The Admiral then had to row the dinghy out to the pilings and attach the stern lines. All the while the wind is blowing the boat around.
I forgot to mention along with everything else, you have to be watch that you don’t crash into boats already at the dock (which we didn’t do). It wouldn’t be the best way to get to know the neighbours.
To our friendly neighbours aboard Justin’s Odyssey II - Dr. Mike and Beth Smith it was good to get to know you. We will wave to you on June 13th as you head up Georgia Straight to Alaska….
On a scale of 1- 10 this docking job was a zero…. Mind you in boating terms a good docking job is one you can walk away from and we did walk away from this one after a bit of angst….
All weekend we watched boats come and go. I have to say it made me feel better when boats would come in with 4 to 6 people on board and with 3 guys on the dock and still have great trouble docking - sometimes even taking chunks out of the pilings. This type of docking is definitely a practised art…
On Easter Sunday when we left Port Zante we had to do everything in reverse - this too is much easier said than done. We talked about and rehearsed in our minds how we were going to execute our departure.
This time The Admiral was at the Helm and everything went according to plan. We backed out, picked up both stern lines and cleared both pilings…. YEAH… An ‘Admirable Launch’.
Next Time - Our Time in White House Bay.
The Admiral and Gilligan
Sv Bergy Bit
The Maltese Falcon at Sunset sailing to Gustavia St. Barths. 
The Maltese Falconon anchor in Gustavia St. Barth’s 
St Georges Anglican Church - Easter Sunday 2009