St. Kitts and Nevis: Swimming, Beaching & the Many Uses for Gin
My best friend Diane is a long distance open water swimmer and while I have no interest in sharing her aquatic pursuit, I really enjoy tagging along on her endeavors. While some might find her enthusiasm for swimming very far distances in very large bodies of water slightly unhinged, I deeply admire her dedication, grit and athleticism. My support comes in the form of attendance, cheers, photographs and granola bars. Last summer she swam in a washing machine, more commonly known as the Chesapeake Bay. She completed a 4.4 mile swim underneath the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. The weather was awful with high winds and three foot swells. There was a small craft advisory, but the race went on. (See the blog about the St. Micheals.) That which did not kill her made her stronger and determined to head to warmer and hopefully calmer waters for her next challenge.
Enter the Caribbean
She found the 2.5-mile cross channel swim from Nevis to St. Kitts. Ideal. More enjoyable for her, and the compelling bonus of beach time and cocktails at a high-end resort for her support team consisting of her husband, Joe, my husband, Dan and me.
We stayed at Marriott Resort, Casino and Spa located on the windward side (Atlantic) of St. Kitts. The resort itself was beautiful, offering multiple restaurants, a large pool, and a white sand beach dotted with permanent cabanas and plenty of lounge chairs (available for free, which we took very seriously). From our two-room beachfront balcony, we could watch swimmers in the pool and gaze out at the Caribbean—very picturesque, very relaxing and too easy to get used to.
Note to self—one we apparently forgot at the time: staying on the windward side of an island means more waves. Not just a few charming ripples. Moderate to high swells rolled in constantly, making it less “leisurely swim” and more “unexpected fitness challenge.” In fact, Diane—who willingly swims miles in open water—only swam once there because it simply wasn’t enjoyable. For the rest of us mere mortals (or, as I like to say, poor schleps), getting into the water required a big expenditure of energy.
To their credit, the Marriott staff worked hard to keep the beach clear of seaweed, but they cannot, as it turns out, control the Atlantic Ocean. Apparently, there is an extraordinary bloom of sargassum offshore, which breaks off and washes up on the Atlantic beaches in mass volumes.
As a result, we leaned into our strengths: lounging in chairs, enjoying the breeze, and taking the occasional walk to justify adult beverages and snacks. It was relaxing.
The resort was about a $25 taxi ride each way to Basseterre, the capital city of St, Kitts, where more restaurants awaited. Interestingly, a taxi ride anywhere on the island costs $25, regardless of the distance. Because that added $50 to the cost of dinner, we mostly stayed close to the resort. The on-site options—pizza, sushi, Italian, seafood, plus a beach bar for lunch—were perfectly acceptable. There were a few restaurants within walking distance and a liquor store and market across from the Marriott entrance. Perfect.
To be clear, the Marriott is a lovely resort in a beautiful setting. It’s just a matter of expectations.
The Race-Swimming the Narrows
On the Thursday before the race, we took a ferry to Nevis to attend a welcome party. It gave Diane a chance to see what she was about to tackle. After swimming the 4.4 mile Chesapeake Bay Bridge challenge, she felt confident this was very doable; it just looked far to us. But as we stood on the pier at least we could see the start point and the end.
Diane’s support staff
This swim is a big deal to the locals, many of whom take a day off to support the event with their time and effort. Many locals manned kayaks, canoes and motorboats in case a swimmer had difficulty. Others did the grunt work setting up tables, handing out event bags, and generally making certain the event ran smoothly. Whether islanders participate or not, they all knew the event was happening and talked about it. Throughout the week, after the race, cab drivers and waiters still talked with excitement about the race.
To lend further support, 3 friends from New England who we met on a trip to Ecuador and the Galapagos in 2025 joined us in St. Kitts. We enjoyed our time together and the night before the race, we invited them to our suite for happy hour. Not sure what we would be serving, one of them brought some gin in a water bottle. This will become significant later.
On the day of the swim, we rose before dawn, took a taxi to the pier and got in line to be transported by ferry to Nevis, the starting point for the swim. Since we were some of the first 20 to arrive, we were transported to Nevis on a nice, fast cabin cruiser. The remaining swimmers, of which there were 500, rode on an old ferry, and arrived an hour later.
The swimmers gathered at the starting point and the spectators got on the ferry to watch the entry into the water. There were 500 swimmers from 41 different countries. The Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis was on hand to officially start the race. As we crossed the 2.5 mile Narrows on the boat, we could see the swimmers in the channel. It was a shotgun start, which means all swimmers are starting at once, rather than being sent off in waves of ten at a time. They were each required to have their race number tattooed on their upper arm and to wear a neon swim cap and pull a neon buoy, so all you saw was a sea of neon bobbing along at a pretty fast pace. On the St. Kitts side, upbeat music was blaring awaiting the arrival of the first swimmers. It unbelievably only took 56 minutes for the first swimmer to arrive.
Diane is circled in black. She put fluorescent green tape on her pink buoy so we could spot her.
Diane beat her estimate of when she would complete the journey, and so her cheering squad was unprepared as she strode out of the water in under 1 hour and 30 minutes. She took fourth place in her age group (Women aged 60-70). At the end of the race, her husband, Joe offered her a cold bottle of water that he had thoughtfully brought with him. To both of their surprise (which was only discovered when Diane took a big gulp), it was the bottle of gin that our friends brought to the room the night before, and Joe unknowingly stuck in their refrigerator. The gin came in handy later though, as they discovered that gin is an effective way to remove a temporary tattoo.
Snorkeling
We took a catamaran to Shitten Bay and Pinney Beach on Nevis to snorkel and for some beach time. While enjoyable, it wasn’t the most vibrant snorkeling we’ve experienced. The seabed was rocky, with sparse coral and limited marine life. That said, I nearly stepped on a bright red starfish while exiting the water on Pinney Beach, which certainly added a moment of excitement. We were also visited by a very curious Atlantic ghost crab, who seemed equally interested in observing us.
Trying to Take a Scenic Train Ride
We planned to take the 18 mile narrow gauge train to see the northeast coastline of St. Kitts. The tracks were placed in 1912 to haul the sugar cane from the fields to the sugar mill in Basseterre. And bottomless rum cocktails were offered. Best laid plans. But an ancient train engine that bellows black smoke into the blue sky sometimes just needs a good mechanic. About 3 miles into the journey, the engine quit. A bus rescued us and we went back to the Marriott beach.
Until the Next Swim Challenge
Watching Diane take on the Narrows was a reminder that travel isn’t just about where you go—it’s about what you’re willing to take on once you get there. She’ll keep swimming impossible distances in open water. I’ll keep showing up with snacks, a camera, and unwavering support—from a safe and comfortable distance–enjoying everything the venue has to offer.
