Sailing North
08 February 2017 | The Saints (Iles de Saintes)
Ian Sales
Investigations into Inga's starter were inconclusive, mainly as it was so inaccessible, so my efforts to remove it or short it came to nought. We decided to tow/accompany Inga to the Le Marin area where Yanmar assistance could be obtained. The next morning we set off towing them out to find some wind and then sailing down the island of Martinique, just before the point where we turn East we started towing but soon abandoned this plan due to the sea being too rough and the wind too strong. So we both tacked upwind the 10 miles to the anchorage at St.Anne, an enormous area about 5 metres deep where it was no problem to tow them the last mile into a slot. We stayed the night here and set off early to go back to St.Pierre. We sailed all the way the 30 miles with a good beam reach once round the SW point of Diamond Rock. This has an interesting history as the English landed a garrison there in 1762, about 3 miles off the coast, and held it for some time shooting at the "Frenchies". Its unbelievable how they managed to land on it let alone haul cannons up and live on it for 14 months at a time. From St.Pierre, after checking out, we sailed the 57 miles up to the anchorage at the North of Dominica. This was a bumpy passage with 20-25 knots on the beam and a couple of reefs in both sails. The GPS was clocking regular speeds of 7's and 8's with the occasional 9 knots while I fretted about what was going to break and what I would do about it. The seas eased in the lee of the island of Dominica and we managed to sail all the way to the anchorage in Prince Ruperts Bay off the town of Portsmouth. We found the anchorage crowded but located a spot and settled down. It was a restless night as I kept thinking we were moving, but if we did it was not much and in the morning at first light we weighed anchor and set off for the Saintes, the islands just South of Guadaloup. The forecast 20-25 knots did not materialise for this short, 15 mile, passage and we had a more leisurely sail in 15-20 knots. However on arrival the wind picked up to 20-25 while we motored around the anchorage looking for a buoy, along with several others. You can anchor here but only outside the buoy zone and in 12 meters. One of our rally boats came out in their dinghy to say hello but there were no buoys available in their bay or anywhere, so we anchored in 12 meters and we wait to see if the wind will subside and we can go ashore. Looking at the weather we may move on up Guadaloup tomorrow as Friday looks the best day for the 47 mile passage to Antigua where we have to meet G's sister next Tuesday.