Sailing the Windward Islands

Well, home for some of the crew. I needed to try to find SOME night life. While boarding the dinghy to go back to the boat, some 'kids' came to me and asked, in French, if I could take them back to their boat. I told them, okay, but I need to take Phil and Debra first. Then I would come back to them to take them to their boat. Off I went with Phil and Debra. Once they were aboard, I went back to the dock. There were six of them. I recognized them from the boat near ours that we saw earlier come in and anchor under sail! Very impressive. Since there were six, the plan was to take the three girls first. One was even pregnant! Okay! On the way over the girls told me that they had no dinghy! And they had no engine for the sailboat! BUT THEY HAD RUM! Would I like some rum? Well Duh!! What what about the 'boys'. Oh they will swim back to the boat. They like the challenge! I was a little concerned for the boys, but for the moment, the situation seemed under control. With the the girls back on the boat they started making Ti Punch! Wow! Ti punch tastes a lot different in a restaurant than it does on a sailboat with three girls! The 'Boys' finally showed up swimming to the boat. All the kids spoke English and I felt it as a golden opportunity to get local sailing information. Our original plan was to go to Montserrat tomorrow. But after checking the MVO(Montserrat Volcano Observatory) we found that there was an eruption yesterday. All things considerate, maybe we will skip Montserrat. I was in Montserrat in 1995, two weeks before the volcano blew and wiped out the Southern 2/3 of the island. A lot of what I visited then, is now destroyed. In talking with 'the kids' from Guadeloupe, our second choice is a good one. It called, Deshaies. Which according to the kids is pronounced, "Day-Hay". This French stuff is hard! I also took the opportunity to correct my French. So I asked to help me with 'vin du rouge'. I would say 'van du rouge'. They told me it is pronounced 'ron' not 'van'. Okay. Then it's 'da' not 'du'. Wow, this is completely different that I have been saying. And then "voo"(vous). I finally got it. They were trying to help me with ron-da-voo(rendevous). I said, "No, RED WINE!" Everyone laughed. Now it's "Van-Du-Rouge", not Ron-Da-Voo"! But they did tell me that 'rendevous' works with French girls also! I said Au revoir to my new best friends and headed for my dinghy. But one last 'gift', I broke the stern ladder on their sailboat. Maybe too much Ti Punch! Oh well, maybe Phil's insurance will cover it!