We are leaving today and starting our 240 mile sail to the British Virgin Islands but first there’s some shopping to be done. I want the top I tried on yesterday and there’s a couple of things I forget to put on my very small shopping list.
We presume that the shops won’t be open until about 10 am so we get the boat ready for leaving and make sure the up to date blog is posted. It rained quite heavily overnight and the sky still looks overcast and somewhat threatening until around the time we are about to get in the dinghy then the sky clears and the sun comes out, fit to burn. I can’t be bothered with the nasty cream again so go out with a sarong around my shoulders.
The clothes shop I want is the only one that doesn’t seem to open at 10 am. Typical. We do our other bits of shopping, the heat increasing all the time then hang around, moving from bit of shade to bit of shade until 11 am. I promise Mike that if she doesn’t open at 11 am we will leave it. For once he is quite content to wait as he actually doesn’t want to leave this lovely place.
Although it’s a Sunday, in high season it is buzzing, and people are out and about in the cafes, shops and at the little beach. Hobie cats are being got ready for pleasure cruising – I can’t believe that the first time Mike ever got me on a boat almost 30 years ago was on one of these little things.
Photo: Brightly coloured hobie cat being prepared for the day’s sail
Eventually, at just past 11 am the shop opens. I have had to pacify Mike a little with a double caramel magnum ice cream – even he has his limits for waiting around – but it works a treat and I get my new top.
We walk slowly back to the town dinghy dock, taking in the smells and colours all around us to keep us going until the next time we come.
Photos: Lots of colour and traditional buildings – that’s Bourg des Saintes in a nutshell
We get the dinghy back to Jeannius, both getting wet because there are so many ferries and small craft that are criss-crossing the anchorage that the waves are breaking all over the place and immediately pull up the dinghy and the anchor and head for open sea, just half an hour later than planned – not bad.
As we cross the channel between Les Saintes and Guadeloupe, a huge racing trimaran crosses in front of us going really fast, about 12 knots in very light winds. We wonder whether he is practising for Antigua race week.
Photo: Racing trimaran
The wind starts to pick up shortly after and we get the sails up but unfortunately, our lovely sail is short-lived – after about an hour the wind all but disappears (it goes down to about 3 knots – more a sigh than actual wind) and we come almost to a stop – just 1.5 knots. On with the engine again!
We continue to motor sail up the west coast of Guadeloupe, current building against us and wind on the nose. This is not what I had expected from these seas. The sea starts to change in the late afternoon, and my cockpit lazing is cut short by a rogue wave which comes over the starboard side and soaks me. I am not amused and my camera, which has been sitting on the table, narrowly escapes a dose of salt water. By 6 pm when I am talking on the SSB to Rosemary from Crazy Horse and Sandro from Lady Lisa, it is continuing to get worse. The wind whips up to 25-28 knots and we start to race along, so much so that we have to take the main down and just go with the genoa. The seas become more and more uncomfortable as waves slam into us. Oh boy, this is like open ocean stuff and this part of the Caribbean is not what I consider to be open (even though technically it is).
We shut ourselves in the salon for the evening with the air conditioning on, amazed that we have so quickly become unused to these type of weather conditions, having been away from ocean cruising for a whole two to three weeks. We had become land lubbers already without even realising it.
Our position is: 16 deg 28 min N, 62 deg 35 min W
Distance so far: 24886 nautical miles
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