Heading South and New Friends

Our plan this year is to head southbound to Guadeloupe and then Martinique where we will meet up with Roger's sister Pam and her husband Ross in late January. Many cruisers follow a rule that states guests can stipulate pickup date or country but not both. The reason is, safe travel by boat can be restricted by weather. We however do not adhere to many rules so we are picking them up on the 28th in Le Marin Martinique. They will sail with us through Martinique and then down to St Vincent and the Grenadines.  The Grenadines is one of Roger's favourite places on this planet, so he is looking forward to sharing these magical islands with his sister.  After dropping them in St Vincent, we will sail north again making our way to the British Virgin Islands where we will spend a month before hauling the boat out at the end of April for hurricane season.

While we had lots of time to get to Martinique, we were keen to start our voyage instead of being in perpetual preparation mode. With so many moving parts on a boat many people fall into this trap and spend the majority of their time in port. With this in mind, we set out to Guadeloupe on the first leg of our journey.  We left Falmouth, near English Harbour, Antigua about 8:45 a.m. with Roger expertly using the bow thruster to take us out from the dock and around the 50 foot pristine launch that belonged to one of the super yachts. Pirate kept a close watch as we headed out past the super yachts and then out of the harbour to the open sea.

Guadeloupe is a butterfly-shaped, French Island that lies about 40 nautical miles (1 NM equals 1.15miles) south of Antigua.  As you sail south, you pass through the Guadeloupe Passage, a strait in the Caribbean Sea that separates Guadeloupe from Montserrat and from Antigua and Barbuda.  Our destination, Deshaies, is a common port of call on the north end for those heading south from Antigua or Montserrat.  It is a beautiful little fishing village with a Patisserie that Roger and Pirate find impossible to pass each time we are there. Unfortunately there was no wind, so we would be motoring the whole way.  On the positive side, we would be traveling in a straight line, minimizing our distance and our crossing time. 

  

When we set out, we seemed to be the only boat on the Caribbean Sea, but soon we saw several others on the horizon which showed up on our electronic charts using the built in AIS feature (automatic identification system).  This is a global marine tracking system that transmits a ship's position relative to others.  Using this system, we know the boats name, length, speed and direction which allows us to avoid any close calls.  While under power, we saw a large freighter in the distance which would eventually pass in front of us by about 1 nautical mile. Roger could confirm this using both the AIS and our radar, long before we actually crossed paths. When Roger and I first started sailing together, all you had was a chart and a compass. Safety at sea has thankfully come a very long way due to technology. 

We arrived in Deshaies 6 hours later.  Roger had communicated with a fellow cruiser that was already in the anchorage, using another app called Navily.  He kindly informed us that there were still several mooring balls available.  Unlike mooring balls in some other islands, there is no pennant to attach your line to - only a big ring at the top of the ball.  The challenge is getting your line onto the ball as the boat's deck is many feet above the water.  We have devised a system where you put the bow line over the top of the boat hook and use the boat hook like a thread and needle through the loop on the mooring ball.  Fortunately with calm weather and Roger's driving skills, I was able to thread the line through first try.  Of course, everyone in the anchorage is always watching you moor, even if they try to pretend they are not. Unfortunately many a relationship has ended mooring a boat. 😡

The French islands now have a new on-line customs clearance which you completed before you arrive.  You receive an on-line approval which means when you get to the island, there are no other requirements to check in, making it a relaxing experience with no rush to get ashore.  Pirate however was keen to get ashore and do her business, so we headed in to the town dinghy dock.  

Strangely enough, the first person we met on the dock was Brad, the person Roger had communicated with on Navily.  They recognized us because we had Pirate who Roger had mentioned in the Navily email.  Brad and his wife are Canadians who bought their first sailboat - a 50 foot catamaran! - about 5 years ago.  We ended up having them over for cocktails a couple nights later. On the dingy dock we also met a couple Roger had chatted with in Antigua. We had seen their boat following us on the crossing and had recognized the boat name "Bliss" on our AIS system. Little did we know, we would meet them again in a few days and uncover one of those "you're kidding me", small world stories. 

On the way back to our boat, we met yet another couple. They were lovely Canadians from Sarnia who had also just taken up sailing in the last several years.  She was missing her dog and waived us over to come aboard and share a beer with them.  He is a farmer but they now spend their winters in the Caribbean. When we arrived, he was actually working on his crop and planting plan in preparation for spring. As you can see, cruising can be quite a social sport. One day out and we were already up 6 new friends. 

On land we found the requisite bakery, with baguettes and croissants, and just down the road a rum shop.  What more could you ask for?  Life is good.

The water in Deshaies is beautiful for swimming and so we decided to give the watermaker a try. Roger had completed some repairs from last year including a new mother board.  All seemed to be working well....

....when all of a sudden there was a strange noise in the engine compartment.  Roger pulled up the hatch in time to see water gushing from one of the high pressure hoses for the watermaker.  Life on board is always full of surprises.  

With challenges, you find opportunities.  We decided to change our plans and check out the marina in Pointe-a-Pitre in the next few days. We had not been there before, but understood it has an excellent chandlery where we hoped to find the needed hoses so Roger could get to work fixing the issue. 

Unfortunately the Pointe-a-Pitre marina was full and could only accommodate us 6 days in the future. This was no problem as we knew a beautiful little spot, which is one of our favorites in the Caribbean, where we could stay for a few days while we waited. The spot is an island chain, just south of Guadeloupe called Iles Des Saintes. 

On our way there, we stopped for the night at Pigeon Island which is a one hour sail south of Deshaies and about 1/3 of the way to Les Saintes. This area is home to the Cousteau Marine Reserve and a favourite dive site. After anchoring, we donned our snorkel gear and headed out to the dive site in our 13 foot inflatable dinghy aptly named, Soggy.  There we swam with a large school of blue tangs, and saw some other interesting fish including a porcupine fish, a scorpion fish and lots of brightly coloured parrot fish.  

After stocking up on 2 months of dog food at the local veterinarian, we pulled up anchor early the next morning and again headed south for Les Saintes. As the on-board barrista and galley chef, I rustled up some hot tea and bagels as Roger and Pirate kept a keen eye out to dodge the many fishing nets and crab pots floating off the coast. 

Our destination was Ile a Cabrit, a small island just a 10 minute dinghy ride from the main town in Les Saintes. There is one particular morning ball there that is the best one in the bay as it places the boat right beside a fantastic snorkeling area and is near an easily accessible beach where Pirate can do her business. We hoped it would be vacant when we arrived. 

Most of the journey was uneventful as we motored on an unusually flat calm Caribbean Sea and zero wind. However, when we rounded the bottom of Guadeloupe, passing the lighthouse on the point, the breeze kicked up to 21 knots and the waves built quickly, making for a salty sail for the remaining hour. 

Pirate had determined it was not the best day ever, but when we rounded the point into the lee of our destination island, Roger noticed there were only two open mooring balls. Believe it or not, one of them was the ball we had hoped for. However, there was another sailboat moving at top speed into the anchorage from the other side, seemingly headed for the ball we wanted. Not unlike two SUVs racing for the last parking spot in the local mall at Christmas, both of us pushed our throttles to wide open. Luckily, he headed for the other open ball and we nailed the best one in the bay. Life is good. 

After a not so graceful first mooring attempt, which saw our boat hook being retrieved by a snorkeler, I took the helm and Roger brandished the backup boat hook.  This mooring ball was a slightly different type that featured a short pennant, a huge ball and a very tight loop. The only way to thread the mooring line through it was to lay down on the deck, snag the mooring pennant with the boat hook in one hand and our mooring line in the other, haul the pennant as high as possible and jam our line through the tight pennant loop. I was happy to be driving the boat, leaving Roger  to do the required gymnastics. This time we were the entertainment for all the others in the anchorage!  

When things settled down, we noticed that the boat Bliss was just a few mooring balls over.  They had passed us the day before while we were on our way to Pigeon Island. Of course, Mr. Social, Roger stopped by to say hello. That discussion led to an invite for wine and cheese that evening. Ray and Tracey own a beautiful Hylas 57 and we were happy to give us a tour. Tracey is a respirology technician and Ray a retired surgeon. While getting to know each other, Roger recognized that Ray worked at the university hospital in New Hampshire where our college buddy Ted Trus had also been a surgeon. Sure enough Ray knew our buddy quite well. What a crazy small world this is. 

Soon we will leave this lovely anchorage and head up to the Marina in Port A Pitre in search of more boat parts. Will we be successful or will we have to ration water for the rest of the trip?