Yacht Wishing For The Moon

Three weeks of day sailing with my cousin and friends has left me with a taste for the high life! Some gentle reaching up and down the lee side of Antigua, stopping at beach restaurants for gorgeous lunches, and dinners up at the Villa Kathleen where a crew of fine chefs created fine meals. I barely needed to cook even for myself, and the setting in Deep Bay was perfect. Saw dolphins on occasion and quite a few turtles.

Then it was a few days spent near Jolly Harbour to enable the Fridge Engineer to fix a little problem with one of the units. I had been working on the backup system which was quite adequate, but now all is working fine. On the sail to Falmouth Harbour the majestic tail fin of a whale waved in the air nearby before plunging into the depths. Then it was a days' close hauled sail in a pleasant force 4 down the windward east side of Guadaloupe to Illes Petite Terre. Two tiny low tropical islands joined at the east side by a reef making a lovely sheltered anchorage between them. The entrance was a bit hairy with a shallow bar which makes the entrance impossible in any swell which breaks across it. However it was calm when I arrived, but the next morning a little bit of sea was breaking on the reef and to avoid getting trapped I left early and sailed the 8 miles to St. Francoise.

Saint Francoise is a smallish seaside town with a fishing/ferry port and a marina, and a good anchoring area outside protected by a reef. At sometime in the past mooring buoys had been laid, and many of these were occupied by seemingly abandoned old yachts. But I found a good place to anchor for a night, did the checkin formalities on the following morning, then sailed on to Ille Le Gosier anchorage just 3 miles from Pointe-a-Pitre.

And here I remain anchored behind the little island with an old-fashioned light house, tucked in behind the surrounding reef.It has a pretty beach and a small bar/cafe. The village ashore has all the necessary basic ammenities. From early morning until dusk flocks of swimmers make the passage to the island and back.