Back and there to see how far it is
andromeda of plymouth
Susan and Andrew Wilson
Fri 23 Mar 2012 11:34
With the generator still not fixed and our intention to enjoy a few days
away we hauled up the anchor and set sail for Guadaloupe. We had planned
our sail of about 90 miles to take place partly overnight as covering the
miles in normal daylight hours would have us arrive in a strange place in
the dark, something we tend to avoid, we therefore set off as the
afternoon was drawing to a close. Off we went out of the anchorage and
into the sea again, with about 20 to 25 knots of wind and it was a bit
bouncy, but up went the main and then out came the genoa and soon we were
bowling along to the island, albeit one that was invisible at the moment
because of the rain falling in the distance. We on Andromeda were lucky
that it rained well away from us and before long we were getting into the
swing of things. Sue and Paull came across the channel with us on our
first big trip of this adventure and it was really great to have them on
board sailing once again.
As it began to get dark we all donned our life jackets and safety
harnesses and hooked ourselves on. With so much cloud there wasn’t a lot
to see but we steadily made our way towards Guadaloupe and by 11pm were
passing Deshais and into the lee of the island, ahead of our timetable,
but now of course the wind was not very strong so it was back to motor
sailing down the coast on a flat sea. We watched the sun come up as we
approached the bottom corner and readied ourselves for getting the genoa
out and sailing again. If you look at Guadaloupe on a map you will see the
island looks like a butterfly with two uneven sides – we were headed to
Pointe-a-Pitre located right in the middle of the two halves. On our way
up to Antigua we hadn’t noticed many pot markers on this coast but as we
turned and started to head up Sue spotted various bottles and buoys all
around, now all eyes were peeled and pot spotting became our major
concern. Having cleared the maze we carried on sailing and then heard a
strange noise, it sounded and felt like some sort of vibration, Andrew
took the engine out of gear, then put it back in and we realised we had a
problem, in the heavy seas there must have been a pot unseen under the
water and we had picked it up and now had unknown quantities of rope
around our prop.
Andrew decided that we would head for the Saints as we were now sailing
and going down the wind, and that was going to be quicker than going up
the wind and also was our nearest landfall. We covered the miles quicker
than expected and once with in hailing range put a call out on the radio
for assistance to get on to a buoy, mainly as a safety issue. After
getting no response we thought we might as well go where we intended to in
the first place as the marina in Pointe-a-Pitre would have people in boats
and probably more importantly a diver.
So we now turned north and began tacking our way up the 18 miles to the
port. Fortunately it was a lovely sunny day and the wind was a good
strength but the tacks were long and we slowly made progress going
backwards and forwards quite a few times. During one of the tacks, Paull
and Susan noticed we had a tail. After some investigation and antics with
the boat hook they hauled in what felt like miles of nylon rope and a buoy
or two. The rope was cut eventually and we were glad we weren’t going into
shallow water with that lot dragging behind us. By mid afternoon we were
approaching the marina and after a couple of phone and radio calls were
guided in just after 4pm, to a spot alongside the dockyard, and tied
ourselves on.
Dinner that night was easy as we had made it before we left Antigua and
before long we were all fast asleep in a very still boat, no water
movement at all, very strange after all this time.
Friday morning saw Andrew and Paull go and clear in and get the all
important shower keys and then croissants and pain a chocolat! Andrew
managed to find a diver very quickly – a very dashing young Guadelopean –
who arranged to visit us a mere 20 minutes later – absolutely amazing! He
and another diver duly appeared and 15 minutes after that a huge amount of
fishing line we removed from the prop, which was also cleaned. What a
result!
We now could go and enjoy the delights of Guadaloupe which has a very
different feel to the other islands. We decided to walk into the town
centre to find the market mentioned in the guides, being aware of the
traffic because we were now in France again and everyone was driving on
the wrong side of the road. That and the fact that for most of the way
there was no pavement made it less enjoyable than we wanted. Reaching the
town we found the market and very colourful it was too, we were going to
take some photos but the stall holders weren’t happy unless you paid for
the privilege......We found a small bar and had some lunch and then
pottered up and down the streets, both Sue’s in their element as there
were quite a few fabric shops....say no more. At least getting back to the
marina was a lot better as having found the tourist information office we
knew where to get a bus back to base and even better as far as Susan was
concerned was that the buses were a lovely bright orange.
The following day we went to find the local hypermarket for provisioning a
walk of about a mile or so away, along a very busy road, again with no
pavements. It was huge, clean, very well stocked and even included a
McDonalds! Sunday saw us visiting the local Aquarium, and very good it
was too, as we had the whole pace to ourselves for much of the time –
lovely and peaceful and a well put together series of pristine tanks with
local small and not so small specimens including creatures we had never
seen before.
Alas it was time to leave so we cleared out on the Monday morning and
asked for assistance to get us off the dock and failing to get diesel once
again as they had run out, set off for Les Saintes. It was quite a bumpy
ride but ok as Sue now seemed to have got her sea legs and for the first
time was enjoying the sailing. We arrived in the busy anchorage and
eventually found a vacant mooring bouy about half a mile from the town, in
the lee of Ilet A Cabrit. Once tied on we dinghied over to Bourg De
Saintes to order our croissants and to let Sue and Paull see a bit of
Terre D’ en Haut. The ride in both directions was a trifle wet! The
following day we went snorkelling and exploring Ile A Cabrit and generally
enjoying the peace and quiet.
Wednesday saw us head up to Deshais for the night before returning to
Antigua so Sue and Paull could get ready for the return to the UK. During
the journey up we found ourselves in a squall between Les Saintes and the
southern tip of Gaudeloupe. The wind instrument told us we were in 38knots
and it was raining bucket loads – not what was forecast at all, but
Andromeda and her crew took it in their stride. Once in the lee of
Guadaloupe again we were back to motorsailing and duly arrived in Dehais
early afternoon.
Deshais has a reputation for being a wind funnel and boy did it blow all
night. There were quite a few boats anchoring and re-anchoring in the dark
but we held firm and were up just after 5 to get underway at first light.
The trip back to Antigua was a delight with 2 reefs in the sails and a
very steady wind, we made good time and were back in English Harbour on
Thursday afternoon and even found space to anchor again.
All too soon it was time to take Sue and Paull to the airport after a last
swim and snorkel, where we saw a turtle swimming peacefully along the
bottom of the bay underneath us. Andromeda seemed very empty and much
bigger when we came back to her but we certainly really enjoyed their
visit – dolphins, turtles, stingrays, frigate birds, pelicans, ospreys,
humming birds, lots of very colourful fish, lobster pots, 38knot wind,
dominoes and a drop or two of rum plus lots and lots of swimming and
laughs – a really fantastic time.
We now set about getting the generator sorted but gave up when we were
told that there was yet another problem that had materialised and for
which Mastervolt had no answer to date. Enough was enough, so we said
goodbye to Antigua and set sail for St Maarten, where we are now moored up
in Simpson Bay Marina.
Travelling over night again we had a great trip - 95 miles of brilliant
sailing all the way. We had to avoid a couple of fishing boats and a very
large, well to us it was, container ship but it was otherwise a great
trip. We passed Montserrat, St. Kitts, Nevis, Statia, Saba and St. Barts
on the way, all places we would like to visit at some stage. Arriving off
Simpson Bay around 06:30am in spite of shortening the sails to slow us
down (yes really!) we anchored up and waited as the bridge into the lagoon
didn’t open until 09:30am. Once through the bridge were taken to our berth
by one of the marina guides and were literally squeezed into place, our
home for the next week or so. Being in a marina is giving us the
opportunity to charge everything up while we look to sort out our power
problems once again (bit of a tape loop here but we will get it sorted!).
We hope our “Mums” had a lovely Mother’s Day!
Photos are from Guadaloupe and the Saints.
More in due course.
Andrew and Susan
S/V Andromeda of Plymouth
St. Maartens, Leeward Islands, Caribbean
