(Blog 62) Dominica - Iles des Saintes

Catou
Paul and Sylvie Tucker
Wed 13 Apr 2011 00:50
15:52.08N 61:35.08W
 
Tuesday 12th April   After a good night's sleep we awoke to a heavily overcast day. A light drizzly prevailed. We were in Prince Rupert bay in the NW part of Dominica. We had a quick breakfast and slipped the mooring that we had picked up the previous evening.
 
I love Dominica, and Sylvie and I have visited the island many times, so we had decided to move on to seek out new lands.  We were keen to see some islands that we don't know, in the limited time that we have.  So we pressed on with the drizzle and no wind!  We motored out of the bay and set the main (just in case we found any wind later).  As we motored clear of the northern part of Dominica a light breeze picked up, but we had to keep the engine running, since there wasn't enough just to sail.  It was only about 18 miles across to a small group of charming islands called Iles des Saintes which are situated just off the SW corner off Guadeloupe.  As we approached, the weather cleared a little and with a little more wind we had a lovely sail in through the SW passage between the islands.  We sailed up to the main 'town' and had to tack the last mile to make the anchorage. After handing sails, we found a great anchorage close in to the little town of Bourg de Saintes on the main island of Terre d'en Haut. 
 
It all looked very charming - and the pilot book simply drools over the place: Irresistable charm...love at first sight....adorable seaside town....... white sandy beaches....flowers in abundance .... AND it all seems to be quite true!  We dropped the hook at about 12.30pm and after digging the dinghy out from the depths of a deep locker, blowing it up and rowing ashore (in the by now, steady light drizzle), we located the bins to dump our rubbish and settled down to a late lunch in an empty waterside restaurant. 
 
Since we were still illegal immigrants, we went in search of the 'Marie' where we completed the necessary immigration formalities for crew and boat.  We then went in search of a boulangerie and some small shopping items.  By this time the drizzle was steadier and heavier, so we aimed for the dinghy pontoon and rowed back to 'Catou' for a peaceful and wet afternoon.  It was a great shame, since this really does look a very pretty place, and we had wanted to hire bikes to visit the island.  The old church was pretty, but I slipped on the wet steps outside (no damage done!) as we were coming out, and there was little else we could do in the rain other than go back on board.  The tourist shops were looking rather sad with no customers.  Most of their trade comes from day visitors coming across from Guadeloupe on one of several ferries that were moored on the main town jetty.  A few bedraggled tourists who had braved the weather that morning were sploshing their way back to the ferries.  So we climbed into a very wet dinghy and rowed back.
 
These islands have always been French.  The small communities that have lived here have mostly relied on fishing as a way of life.  There are strong links to northern France, especially Brittany apparently.   Tomorrow we are heading up the west coast of Guadeloupe to a small fishing town near the NW corner of the island.  We will then move on to the ' Emerald isle of the Caribbean' - Montserrat.
 
We have a couple of photos to add to the blog today:
Ken cleaning Catou's bottom in Rodney Bay
The scrubbing team. Guess which is me?
 Chart plotter showing our Caribbean route so far
Church in Bourg de Saintes