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