When we last left you we were quite vocally
OhHenry'ing about all sorts of stuff, as were planning our transit to Guadeloupe. The colours and arrows of WindGuru and PassageWeather were displaying some rather positively perfect East Winds that would allow us to Sail Straight South.
The Capt'N was smiling, and you know what that means, right?
We picked up a mooring ball in Jolly, provisioned a triple order, picked up our laundry from Geraldine, topped up our gas jugs, and checked out of customs. And then it was off to the peaceful spot that is Carlisle Bay where we swam and snorkelled and fell asleep before the stars came out to play, but not before we glimpsed the Southern Cross, another total wow moment.
Shortly after sunrise, coffee in hand, we were on our way,
cruising along at 6.8 knots with 12-15 knots of wind, nice!! Seas were barely over a meter. We had roughly 40 some odd nautical miles to go on this tack so the sailing gloves came off, the Candy Crush came on, and there we were,
but rest assured, the Capt'N was ever-watchful, tweaking the sails a micro-milli-inch this way or that way.
We checked in with the Coconut Telegraph and heard some familiar names that were also making the crossing with us (could it be, would it be, might it be.. A RACE?"). A little after lunch we noticed what had to easily be dozens of boats converging towards us, heading Antigua, most probably just in time for the start of the Races. No Photos. And then we sailed past a pod of whales. We counted 5 of them, thankfully a safe distance away, but gracefully playing and splashing about. No Photos of that either. Was I being lazy?
Shortly after
you know who yelled Land-Ho!! we slowed down. In fact, our speed was half what it was and it felt like we had stopped completely. We'd encountered The Doldrums, a weather phenomenon which never ceases to amaze me. A calm spot of very-little-to-no-wind in the middle of a great expanse of water.
The Capt'N got a little agitated especially with half-a-dozen boats coming up behind us... ("It IS a race", right?)
On the charts Guadeloupe, looks like a bit of a butterfly, and our intended destination is the North-North-Western part of the Basse-Terre Island (the little indented groove you almost see up at the top left of the land mass?)
The wind magically and mysteriously repuffed and we watched with total glee our speedometer increase to acceptable numbers, and happily noted that the boats behind us had slowed right down. (It IS a race, right?)
Until we hit the land mass that is Guadeloupe, and this time the winds shifted 180 degrees. Another phenomenon of interest, sea breezes !!
"Sails in-Sails Out". If I were chatting with Eileen Quinn, I would highly recommend a title to her newest song creations, sure to be a hit, non?
And voila, the entrance to Deshaies,
and we turned into the Wind, dropped the Main, and entered the Bay,
and happily anchored by 13:00 just as the Church Bells chimed their mystical age old tunes.
We'd quite forgotten the peacefulness of this lovely little village. The cacophonic sound of birds chirping, the splashing of the pelicans all around us, the clarity of the green water, and OhMy it was hot. Feels like we've crossed a temperature spike of ten degrees. Which prompted an immediate swim, since we had to check on the anchor anyways.
A brief rest and then it was 16:00, and time to head ashore to check into Customs @ Le Pelican. No grouchy uniformed agents inside this colourful and touristy shop - you've got ONE computer waiting to greet the 6 cruising couples that all converged here at once, waiting to do their duty. Watch your keyboard, this one's en français.
We walked around a bit, stretching our legs, and finally picked up a baguette, a custard cone for the Capt'N, a mille-feuille pour moi, some "companionway" pâté and headed back home to settle into the evening.
Regarde dans le ciel, tu vois l'étoile qui brille très fort? Nous Aussi... bonne nuit.