Les Saintes, Guadeloupe

11 – 21 May 2010

Les Saintes (2)After an overnight passage with variable, but fairly light, winds with some motoring, we anchored in the bay off Bourg des Saintes, the main town in Les Saintes – a small group of islands which are part of Guadeloupe.

We intended staying here for just three or four days, but the weather turned against us and it was 10 days before we were able to depart.  But if you have to get stuck somewhere this is a beautiful place for it – the small town is charming, the large well-protected bay is beautiful and the scenery is lovely.

We didn’t do any sightseeing around the island, but we went ashore every day for some basic shopping in the small mini-markets, and often just sat at a cafe with a coffee or ice cream and watched the world go by.  It was mostly a very restful time.

We did need to get some petrol for our dinghy’s outboard motor and, after asking around, found that there is no petrol station in the town – the only available fuel is at a dock in another bay, accessible by a road over the hill and then a path.  So we thought it a lovely day for a walk, took the can in a knapsack and set off as directed.  We got to the next bay and found the beginning of the path.  There were occasional marks on the route, but for a number of different paths but for a while we followed the right one.  Then we arrived at a chainlink fence across our way; we couldn’t see the path at all so we guessed, found a path and followed it… almost to the top of the hill – great views, but the wrong path!!  Backtracked to the fence and hailed the young men inside for directions; they very kindly sent a boy out to show us the way.  The right path was mostly across rock and invisible if you didn’t know it, but we eventually arrived at the fuel dock – hot, tired and very thirsty.  We filled our can, bought some water to drink, and made the return journey much faster.

A few days later we decided we needed to get some diesel for the boat’s engine – this time we motored round and anchored in the bay, and transported the fuel by dinghy to the boat, returning to the main anchorage the same afternoon.

We also needed to fill our water tank whilst here – the only place was from the yacht club.  You pay in advance, tie up to their mooring buoy which has a hose attached and then radio the club to turn on and off the water.  As it was a set price for as much as you could take we filled up the tank, every container on board and all the buckets – so we did the laundry that day.

Once the weather became favourable for an overnight passage to Martinique we went on our way, but look forward to returning again next season.

For more photos please click here

St Martin/Sint Maarten

15 April – 9 May 2010

Carnival, Philipsburg, Sint Maarten (108)After a good passage which started with very light winds but ended with a few hours of great sailing, we anchored in Marigot Bay, the capital on the west coast of St Martin (again, part of France).  We checked in and the next day went through the bridge into the huge sheltered lagoon where we anchored on the French side of the border.  The island is half French and half ex-Dutch (now independent) and the border runs through the middle of the lagoon.  There is no border control moving from one side to the other either on the roads or by dinghy, but you must anchor your yacht in the waters of the country you have cleared into.

Another friend we made in Las Palmas, Mike on Tuntsa, was also here and it was great to see him again.  He is an American who does the Atlantic circuit every year: St Martin – Azores – Canaries, working from his boat and selling navigation software.

This was the first time we came across a cruiser net.  This happens early every morning (except Sunday) with a resident cruiser acting as net controller.  Any cruisers listening can respond to the various categories: arrivals & departures, security information, buy and sell, what’s on, and any information required by cruisers.  We reported our arrival, requested info about local supermarkets etc, and joined in various social activities advertised on the net.  Because of it, Ken & Lynn on Silverheels III introduced themselves and showed us around – they have become very good friends of ours.

There’s a very lively cruiser social scene around the lagoon, but we also did some serious stuff – buying a new (larger) outboard motor for our dinghy and kitted out with various bits and pieces at the local DIY and electrical stores and two very large chandlers.

We were fortunate that the Carnival took place in Philipsburg, the capital of Sint Maarten, during our stay.  We took the local bus down there with Ken & Lynn for the main parade – lots of exotic feathered costumes, live steel bands on every lorry – noisy and great fun.  For video of the carnival please click here

We also had a lovely day out round the island – we hired a car with Ken & Lynn so that we could all do some heavy shopping, then had a lightning tour around the island, ending with a lovely BBQ meal overlooking the beautiful bay of Grand Case.

Towards the end of our month, it was lovely to have our friends Manu & Michelle on Teepee arrive – it was great for us all to get together again with Mike on Tuntsa.

By now we had finally made the decision to head south to Grenada (rather than north to the US) for the hurricane season, these being the summer months from June/July to the end of October.  We had booked our flights for a visit to the England in the middle of July and a secure marina in Grenada to leave the boat.  As we wanted to be in Grenada by the end of June it was time for our departure.

For more photos please click here