Antigua
Blue Sky's Voyage
George & Michael
Mon 10 Mar 2008 11:51
Hello
Friends
"17:01.0N 61:46.4W"
We have had a jolly time in
Guadeloupe. Firstly, Deshaies (the fishing town in the NW corner of
Guadeloupe) was very sociable and not a sunset went by without a drinks party on
one boat or another.
Eventually we made our way down to Les
Saintes and great fun battling the squalls that raced between Guadeloupe and Les
Saintes... Most boats seem to drop the sails altogether and motor when faced
with frisky weather, but we just reef down and carry on regardless: I must admit
that it was a case for the swimming goggles (so I could keep watch in the
downpour) but at least the rain is warm out here and it was all quite fun
really.
In Les Saintes we anchored next to 'Esprit'
and caught up with Andy and Sally. Great entertainment was had watching charter
catamarans dragging (their anchors) in the evening and then spending 3 hours
attempting to re-anchor when all on board were enjoying the benefits of a well
lubricated supper. Naturally they were enthusiastically discouraged from
anchoring too close to us !!
We then repaired to the marina in Point a
Pitre and met up with Cyndi and Fred on 'Kelp Fiction' and were joined by
'Esprit' a day later. Much more socialising followed, punctuated by a few easy
chores such as a small mainsail repair and a visit to the
Hypermarket.
Our sail back to Deshaies was great and we
paused there to pick up Fabio, our new Cabin Boy. Fabio arrived with splendid
long hair, but of course the needs of strict nautical discipline demanded a
haircut, which was efficiently carried out without delay ! So in case you don't
believe us - here is the evidence...
On arrival - complete with
mane:
The haircut:
and casting the shorn locks to Neptune
(Deshaies town in background):
Yesterday we had an excellent sail up to
Antigua, averaging a highly satisfactory 8.5 knots and squeezing in the whole 43
miles crossing in between breakfast and lunch. We'll be doing a little tidying
today in preparation for Zoë and Matt who arrive in about 8 hours for a
couple of weeks fun in the sun. Expect a full report in this blog soon
!
Best Wishes
George, Michael and Fabio
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