Well, somehow a week passed whilst we hung about in Jolly Harbour. We enjoyed lunch (flying fish) at Café Bamboula on our visit to the Antiguan capital of St. John's. Lunch was so good that the ladies went day shopping and tried a repeat performance. The restaurant closed the day after as May 1st is considered the end of the cruise ship season.
Generally speaking, the tourism season in the Islands has been tough on the travel industry with many layoffs. Before leaving Antigua we said farewell to Randy & Sue (Nancy Dawson) heading home to NS for the season and to Lisa and Norm (Williwaw) sailing back to Cape Breton to conclude their Atlantic Circle trip.

On April 30th we set sail with Daniell Storey bound for Deshaies on the NW corner of Guadeloupe. We had a great sail until a squall came over and the wind switched to the south. Oh well, if you aren't going to windward...

Deshaies is in a beautiful location surrounded by mountains, but the town doesn't look like much from the water side - a tribute to the odd hurricane and tropical storm that chews up the beachfront buildings and docks. However, the water is crystal clear and the beach is actually lined with restaurants. We enjoyed lunch at Le Coin des Pecheurs. One new local highlight was Harold, who dropped by the first evening by dinghy and asked what we would like delivered in the morning: baguettes, croissants, pain chocolate, crepes, etc. Wow- it was all great, delivered warm at 7:00 AM.
Deshaies is home to a fabulous botanical garden the equal of any we've seen anywhere - well laid out, superbly maintained and well signed for those who don't know a bromeliad from a pine tree (like Bill). At first, �'�14 a head seemed a bit much, but it was well worth the fee.

On May 2nd, encouraged by an expected period of SE winds and squally weather we moved on to The Saintes, the island group south of Guadeloupe. The highlight of the first day was a hike up to Fort Napolean which has a neat museum devoted to the French - English naval battles in the area and a fabulous view of the surrounding islands.

"A Day In The Saintes" for those who want to know what cruising is really like (on the good days like May 4th).

We are up before 7AM to heat water for washing, get the coffee going, lower the dinghy (it spends every night hoisted on the davits) and listen to the Chris Parker weather forecast that comes on around 7:15. Over coffee and breakfast we log in to the SSB Coconut Telegraph at 8 AM so we can locate our fellow cruisers. On this particular day, we go ashore to check in with the French authorities since this will be our 4th day in Guadeloupe and no-one was available to check us in at Deshaies or here on the May 1st long weekend!

We dinghy ashore - this time to the swimming area - and lock the dinghy to the dock. The town features narrow streets, lots of motor scooters and a host of restaurants and bars. Shops open early (7 or 8), close from 12 to 3 and are open until 6 to 8 PM. We wander past the boulangerie and epicerie and note that the tiny lean-to that serves as a fish market is open and busy. At the mairie we fill out the forms and are asked to return in 1 hour since they have to FAX to the capital (Bassetere) for approval. No one looks at our passports or boat documentation.
While we wait, Leona and I climb up to the shrine that overlooks the town. Then we shop at the bakery (hot fresh baguettes) and grocery store (fresh veggies). After picking up the documents (still no peek at the passports and registration) Leona and Michelle return to the fish market where they have fresh tuna and dolphin (mahi - mahi). They negotiate 3 lbs for �'�10 - Leona gets a bit extra 'cause the fish monger has a T shirt indicating he prefers blonds, and she is blonder than Michelle. Back to the boat to store the booty and have lunch on board.

Later we head ashore to visit the shops and have a glass of wine at the sidewalk café that is on the square in front of the main ferry dock. Then it's back to the boat where we enjoy superb fresh tuna steaks on the barbie with some fine wine. This is followed by a movie in the cockpit and to bed before 9. What a strenuous day! The night wasn't so great what with squalls and a swell on the beam rolling us around but that's the price of paradise.

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We left The Saintes on Tuesday, May 5th bound for Pointe a Pitre 21 miles away on the main island of Guadeloupe. We anchored off La Fouillole (we can't pronounce it either) near the marina complex.

We spent the following day walking the city, with its various markets (fish, spice, veggies and flowers: all separate), churches, parks and wild and crazy shopping. Vive la consumerism - there must be more shoe shops in Point a Pitre than Montreal!
The next day we rented a car with Dave & Michelle (Daniell Storey) and toured Basse Terre (the west volcanic island). Every time a cruiser rents a car they look for a super market, so Leader Price was the first stop. Priority two is rum tasting, so next stop was Domaine de Severin for a tour and a sip or two. After all they have a dozen different products - you can't stop with one!
The preliminaries dispensed with, we headed off to Guadeloupe National Park (one of 7 in all of France) to check out the rain forest and mountains. Leona led us on a mud slide / hike trapezing down through the rain forest to the Saut de la Lezard (Lizards Leap). The very impressive water fall was followed by Dave inventing shortcuts uphill through the mud. Lunch at another waterfall picnic site brought the energy level back to snuff and cleansed us of mud (except Leona's butt).

The next day we toured Grand Terre (the east limestone island). This island is smaller so we planned to tour, then provision for our stay in Dominica, the next stop south. Unbeknownst to us, it was a holiday - can you imagine having two long weekends in a row? We started at a spectacular cemetery in Morne-a L'Eau - most of the hundreds of mausoleums feature a unique black and white checkerboard motif. We then went to Port Louis on the north inside of the butterfly first - and ran smack dab into a cycling rally involving about half of Guadeloupe! In fact, we got on the course somehow... After resigning from the race, we headed off to La Moule on the east coast - an interesting blend of modern seafront and historic downtown. Next was Pointe des Chateaux - the eastern most point in Guadeloupe where the relentless sea has sculpted formations reminiscent of - you guessed it - Chateaux! It was a great place for a picnic - wild sea, big hills and a cooling sea breeze.

After a stop at Le Gosier and the fort Fleur d'Epee we descended on the Cora store at Bas du Fort only to discover it was closed due to the holiday. That meant we had to provision the next day (Saturday May 9th) without the car. Fortunately, Dave & Michelle had a couple of carts so we could capitalize on the �'�0.68 500 ml beer that was on special as well as all the other goodies in the reputed largest supermarket in the Caribbean. Unfortunately our hands were full so we have no pictures of our ½ mile procession down the freeway shoulder back to the marina dinghy dock.

One thing we'll remember about Guadeloupe: from the charming lady at the tourist bureau to the vendor at the veggie market to the passer by translating labels to Leona in the grocery store, everyone we met was unfailingly helpful, friendly and accepting of our weak French.

On Sunday we left early on the 40 mile passage to Portsmouth, Dominica. It was a great sail for most of the trip, although the winds howled around the north corner of Dominica at 30K+ with 8 to 10 foot seas. The last five miles was truly a wild ride - no autopilot for this part!

Dominica has lots to do and see and the people are really helpful and friendly. Not for nothing is this the Nature Island. While here we've enjoyed a trip into Roseau (the capital) for a walking / shopping tour; hiking Cabrits National Park and the Fort Shirley restoration and ruins and a guided boat tour of the Indian River (see our header picture) with Martin who really knows his flora, fauna and history.

One complaint - for some reason there is a SW swell creeping into the harbour. When the wind dies at night, the boat swings back and forth across the swell - sometimes flat, other times rolling like crazy. Very tough to get a full nights sleep. So we decide to try the other side of the harbour since the grass looked greener. NOT!

Worse, one of the nearby boats was robbed by three young guys in the middle of the night, losing computer, electronics, dinghy, documents and money. Police and the Indian River Guides were quick to respond. We were reminded that the Indian River Guide security patrol only operates in the northeast part of the bay, so we returned the next morning. Dominican coast guard responded from Roseau by Zodiac(15 miles away) within an hour. Not only that, but the Minister of Tourism came out to the boat the following day to register his concern. This was the first incident in the past 4 years and everyone took it very seriously. At time of writing one suspect has been arrested, and the dinghy recovered.

We never lock our companionway while we are aboard - this strategy needs to be re-thought!!

Our last day we took a guided hike to the Syndicate waterfall, featuring an excellent hands on course on Dominican flora on a farm that seems to grow everything and ending with a visit to Dublanc, a quaint village on the west coast.

Tomorrow, it's off to Martinique!

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On March 11th we finally left Fajardo, PR and ended up in Sun Bay, Vieques. This gorgeous bay on the south coast features over a mile of lovely sand beach along with a picnic park, decent snorkeling and some good hiking. One day we visited the town of Esperanza and had a great lunch at Duffy's. We spent five nights here with Bonanza waiting for the winds to lay down a bit so we could start the beat to windward. During the wait, our dinghy visited the Spa for the semi annual bottom scrub and overall cleaning! The next leg was a short rough trip, to a neat well protected anchorage in Ensenada Honda where we explored the reef and the mangroves for a couple of days.

On March 18th we motored over to Charlotte Amalie in St. Thomas and the following day to Lameshur Bay, St. John. Lameshur Bay is in the National Park, so we took a mooring for the night. The following day we went for a 6 mile hike to the Petroglyphs, and then motored around the corner to spend a night in Coral Bay. Unfortunately, we didn't like the anchorage so diverted to party central - The Bight, Norman Island, BVI. That night, March 20th was deemed time for a dinner ashore - ribs at the Pirate's Lair. The next morning we sailed and motored to Leverick Bay, Virgin Gorda to stage for a window to St. Martin. This 80 mile leg crosses the Anegada (aka Oh-My-God-A) Passage up-wind so it has a reputation for being quite rough.

We arrived in Marigot, St. Martin at 0630 on the 23rd after an uncharacteristically smooth motoring trip. No SOD - that is, no salt on deck! A tot of rum was offered to Neptune (and the crew) in thanks for our first smooth eastbound passage of the year.

For the rest of March we anchored in Simpson Bay Lagoon (French side under the Witches Tit) and seem to have been busy every single evening. Andy & Kitty visited us from Anguilla and stayed overnight. We also attended a street festival in Grand Case and a reunion of the Stray Dogs on Dreammaker. Exhausting, especially when you include provisioning! This is the home of $18 US for a 24 of 12 oz Heineken cans, less than $15 for Presidente and Carib. Best beer price anywhere, pop is similarly inexpensive, and grocery prices and selection are great, especially compared with the other islands.

On April 1st we passed through the Sint Maarten bridge and headed out for Anse Colombier, St. Barts. Beautiful spot, we've promised ourselves twice that next time we'll check in to St. Bart's and stay for a few days exploring. We left there the following morning at 3AM arriving in Jolly Harbour, Antigua at 5 PM. We checked in the following morning and anchored near Nancy Dawson.

On the 6th we motored the 15 miles up to Antigua's North Sound, anchoring in Jumby Bay. Spectacular beach, but Long Island is private - occupied by private residences and an upscale resort. How upscale, you ask? Well, the April special prices were $2500 - $3500 US PER NIGHT, which included all activities, food and beverage and your personal chef and housekeeper. For some reason, we only saw two guests!
The next day we moved to another spectacular beach on deserted Great Bird Island.

After that it was back to Jolly Harbour and on to Falmouth to await the Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta which runs from April 16th through 21st. There are 59 entries ranging from the 24 foot Springtide to the 140 foot Rebecca and including J boats Velsheda and Ranger. We'll be rooting for Nancy Dawson of Dartmouth and Pasha of Lunenburg, the only Canadian entries. Races run from Friday to Monday just off English Harbor / Falmouth.

These folks know how to throw a regatta! I've never seen so much free booze and food. As Dave on Daniell Storey put it "these are Gold Star Days", which is cruiser talk for any day you spend no money.

There are great places to watch the races from the cliffs on the coast of Antigua off Falmouth and Jolly Harbour. Exciting watching all flavors of traditional yachts - capped off by watching the Js duel! you all know the groan your sheets make when you are close hauled and ease them off, well drop it a couple of octaves so it's more like thunder and make it audible at ½ mile and you are close! The races were blessed with 15K winds and sunshine with reasonable seas.

The cap for us was a chance to join Randy and Sue with their guests Stu and Tara on Nancy Dawson for the second race. We had a great time and particularly enjoyed the spectacle of Velsheda, Ranger and Eleonora (each 135 feet) roar past 100 meters away in line astern (see our header picture). It was great until we stalled out in several minutes of swirling winds due to their passage!

On Tuesday the 21st they hold gig races in the afternoon and the awards in the evening. The gig races were great sport, but we couldn't stay up for the 9PM awards ceremony!

Tomorrow its off to Jolly Harbour to stock up and wait for a window to Montserrat or, that failing, Guadeloupe.

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After 4 days split between Trellis Bay and Leverick Bay in the BVI's, we decided to visit Anegada, the only coral island in the BVIs. It was a wonderful beam reach (only 14 miles) and another spot that hasn't been totally touristized. We moored off the Anegada Reef Hotel at 10:30. By 5PM there were 25 boats moored and anchored - only 5 were cruisers, the rest charterers. (This represents a huge gain in population - only 250 residents here!)

We rented a car with Bonanza to tour the island. En route, we stopped at two great beach bars. The first was Cow Wreck Beach Bar. We had to ask why Cow Wreck Beach? Evidently in the olden days buttons were made out of cow bone. A ship loaded with cow bones wrecked on the coast and cow bones drifted ashore for years after.

The other was De Big Bamboo in Loblolly Bay. Regarding Loblolly - we don't know the names provenance. However, they had no shortage of shade, hammocks in the trees and bright blue cement walkways.
Both spots have oodles of character and you could chill out all day. Sadly for cruisers, both are on the weather side of Anegada (no anchorage) so you need a land yacht to get there.

The Gourmet's of the Caribbean struck again with a candlelight lobster dinner on the deck of the Lobster Trap restaurant.

The following day, Feb 4th we had a great 25 mile sail to Cane Garden Bay, where we rendezvoused with George and Kate (Magical) from the RNSYS. We spent the next day in their company at Great Harbour, Jost van Dyke - the home of Foxy's. This is one of the few BVI hot spots that does not have moorings - when the wind swirls or goes flat there are lots of close encounters - especially with folks driving rental boats who don't anchor very often!

The following morning we got away before anyone bumped into us and crossed over to Cruz Bay, St. John to clear into the USVI. From there we moved on to Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, the alleged home of duty free shopping. We spent over a week anchored there shopping and sightseeing. We wandered through town, sprinted (well, sort of) up the 99 steps (see photo) to see Blackbeard's Castle and the ladies hiked around Hassel Island. The anchorage is hard alongside one of the cruise ship terminals and it is pretty neat watching those guys maneuver in close proximity to our little boats and each other.

The next step was a dead downwind run to Dewey, Culebra in the Spanish Virgin Islands.
The contrast is amazing. Dewey is laid back like the more undeveloped places further south, while St. Thomas is unabashedly busy and American. We hung in Dewey for 10 days, walking, cycling and visiting beautiful Flamingo Beach. We also took one of the best transportation bargains in the world. The 1 ½ hour ferry ride to Fajardo (about 20 miles) is $2 each way - half that if you are over 60!
Interestingly, the USVI and Puerto Rico have slightly different rules from each other and from the mainland US. The USVI does not require a cruising permit. You must clear in again when you go from USVI to Spanish VI (PR) and buy your US cruising permit. DO NOT bring any garbage ashore - verboten! We got our cruising permit at the airport in Dewey, Culebra.

On Feb 24th we set our sails for another downwind jaunt - to Fajardo, PR. We checked in to Puerto del Rey Marina - our first marina since we tied up in Grenada in November to visit Barbados. A good thing we tied up near chandleries - stuff started falling apart right away. The fresh water pump was running intermittently because the hot water heater had sprung a leak. The inverter was tough to get started, then died completely. Finally, the key fell out of the autopilot sprocket on the main steering shaft. I could never have replaced it if the water heater had not been removed for replacement!

Puerto Rico has been a neat stop. With Bonanza we rented a vehicle for seven days to provision and tour the island. We visited the radio telescope at Arecibo, spent a day at the El Yunque tropical rain forest including a hike to the top. We also visited the El Conquistador resort where Leona and I stayed in 2001 when I won a Nortel Master's award.

The highlight has to be the visit to Old San Juan. The town is neat, and the El Morro fortress is breathtaking. Thanks to son Steve for the recommendation we had reasonably priced accommodations right in town, and walked our feet off.

Water is free here, and shopping is almost as good as the mainland US. Therefore the boat has been spring cleaned throughout and sewing, provisioning and cetol are nearly up to snuff. Worn out clothing has been replaced and consigned to the rag bin. We are better stocked (and poorer?) than when we left Florida in December, 2007.

We have truly enjoyed travel with Bonanza. Leona and Roy take turns cooking up great meals whilst Michelle and Bill stress the groups pun tolerance.

A year ago today, we were in Georgetown saying farewell to son Doug and the Bofix gang. We were wondering if we would ever get to Grenada before hurricane season. Well, been there, done that! However, after the big investment in time and energy just to get here, the suitability of Voyageur C (as now equipped) for extended cruising, and the number of places we haven't visited, we have decided to spend another season in the Islands before setting sail for home. So, Puerto Rico is our northwest terminus for 2009, and tomorrow we are heading back southeast through Vieques, maybe St. Croix, St. John and St. Martin before wandering down to Antigua for the Classic yacht regatta.

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